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For  success  the  rearing  of  chicks 
should  begin  with   the  parent  stock. 


Breed  for  health. 
Manage  for  Comfort. 


There  is  no  prettier  picture  of  spring  time  than  a  proud,  well  set  up, 
thoroughbred  mother  hen  surrounded  by  a  fine  flock  of  sturdy,  healthy, 
downy  chicks  that  are  w^ell  cared  for.     (Photo  by  Dr.  Woods.) 


HOW  TO  RAISE  CHICKS 


INCLUDING   REVISION   OF   FACTS 
ABOUT  WHITE  DIARRHOEA 


A  Practical  Book  That  Tells  How  to  Select  and  Manage  Breeding 

Fowls,  What  You  Want  to  Know  About  Foods  and  Feeding, 

How  TO  Get  Hatchable  Eggs,  How  to  Hatch  with  Hens 

or  Incubators,  How  to  Brood  and  Raise  Chicks, 

What  White  Diarrhoea  is  and  How  to 

Prevent  tt. 


BY   PRINCE    T.    WOODS,    M.   D 

managing  editor  AMERICAN  POULTRY  JOURNAL 


published  by 

AMERICAN  POULTRY  JOURNAL  PUBLISHING  CO. 

CHICAGO,  ILLINOIS  - 

1912 


COPYRIGHT,  1912,  BY 
PRINCE  T,  WOODS.  M.  D. 
ALL  RIGHTS  RESERVED 


FOREWORD 


AISING  the  chicks  has  been  named  as  the  most  dif- 
ficult "poultry  problem"  and  some  poultrymen  say 
that  "everything  else  is  easy."  If  one  begins  right, 
with  well  born  chicks,  chick  rearing  ought  not  to 
prove  so  very  difficult.  What  is  meant  by  begin- 
ning right? 

For  success  the  rearing  of  chicks  should  begin 
with  the  parent  stock.  You  must  have  good 
healthy  hatchable  eggs  in  order  to  get  good  livable 
chicks.  You  can't  get  good  healthy  hatchable  eggs 
unless  you  breed  for  health  and  manage  for  com- 
fort. Select  your  breeding  stock  with  great  care 
to  get  the  maximum  of  constitutional  vigor;  so 
manage  and  care  for  them  that  they  will  be  comfortable,  contented, 
and  happy,  and  you  will  find  them  productive  and  possessing  abun- 
dant vigor,  vitality  and  health.  These  good  and  necessary  qualities 
will  prove  an  invaluable  hereditary  asset  when  the  time  comes  for 
hatching  eggs  and  rearing  chicks. 

In  this  book  considerable  space  has  been  given  to  selection  and 
mating  of  breeding  stock,  to  care  and  management  of  breeders,  to 
foods  and  the  relation  of  fowls  to  food.  I  believe  that  a  better  under- 
standing of  these  subjects  will  make  it  easier  to  solve  the  "problem" 
of  how  to  raise  chicks.  It  does  not  pay  the  farmer  to  sow  poor  seed. 
It  will  not  pay  the  poultryman  to  produce  poor  seed  eggs  and  weak- 
ling chicks  by  breeding,  hatching  and  rearing  from  stock  birds  that 
are  lacking  in  constitutional  vigor.  If  you  want  strong  sturdy  chicks, 
full  of  health,  vigor  and  vitality — the  power  to  live — there  is  one  safe 
and  sure  way  to  get  them  and  that  is  to  begin  right  with  sound,  well 
selected  stock  and  breed  for  health. 

Herein  also  will  be  found  chapters  on  natural  and  artificial  incu- 
bation and  brooding,  including  the  preparation  of  chick  foods  and 
care,  feeding  and  management  of  chicks  during  growth, — all  are  pre 
sented  with  the  object  of  helping  the  reader  to  success  in  chick 
rearing.  My  earlier  booklet  "Facts  About  White  Diarrhoea"  has  been 
revised  and  largely  rewritten  and  incorporated  as  a  part  of  this  book. 
The  formula  is  given  for  a  remedy  which  has  been  thoroughly  tried 
for  four  years  under  a  wide  range  of  climates  and  conditions  in  the 

7 


87284 


8 


HOW  TO  RAISE  CHICKS 


prevention  and   treatment  of  white  diarrhoea  and  which  has  proved 
successful  and  satisfactory  in  the  majority  of  cases  reported. 

It  is  hoped,  friend  Reader,  that  this  book  will  help  you  to  greater 
success  in  chick  rearing,  to  more  and  better  chicks  and  to  greater 
comfort  for  the  chicks  themselves, — if  it  interests  you  and  you  profit 
by  the  advice  herein  given  the  book  will  be  well  worth  while. 

Prince  T.  Woods,  M.  D. 
Silver  Lake.  Mass.,  January  23,  1912. 


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Dr.  Woods'  open-front,  open-air  poultry  house  as  used  by  Wozelma 
Farms  Producing  Company  in  association  with  American  Poultry  Journal 's 
Experimental  Plant,  Silver  Lake,  Mass.  This  is  a  colony  house  for  breeders, 
portable  type,  10  ft.  Avide  by  16  ft.  deep  and  will  accommodate  a  flock  of 
fifty  fowls.     (Photo  by  John  E.  Zeller.) 


CONTENTS 


Chapter  I— SELECTING  AND   MATING  BREEDING   STOCK 11 

Constitutional  vigor  necessary  in  breeding  stock  to  secure  vitality 
in  the  chicks — ^^Seloction  and  care  of  the  male  bird — Selection 
of  the  females — Mating — Number  of  females  to  a  male— 1  he  service — 
Fecundity   vs.    Sterility. 

Chapter  II— FOODS— VEGETABLE,   ANIMAL  AND  MINERAL 21 

What  food  is — Chief  source  of  all  food — How  the  plant  grows — 
Food  elements. 

Chapter    III— FOWLS    AND    FOOD 25 

The  living  fowl  and  the  life  principle — The  living  cells — Chemistry 
of  the  fowl's  body — Disposition  of  food  varies  with  individuals- 
Variety  of  wholesome,  palatable  food  is  necessary — Balanced  ration 
is  desirable — Live  food  is  needed — -Digestion  of  food — Maintaining 
body  temperatures — Exercise — Give  the  fowl  a  chance  to  balance 
its  own  ration. 

Chapter    IV— CARE    AND    MANAGEMENT    OF    BREEDERS 35 

Housing — Foods  and  feeding — Hoppers  and  automatic  feeders — Impor- 
tance of  comfort — Keep  them  healthy  and  happy — Well  fed,  healthy 
breeders  managed  for  comfort  yield  hatchable  eggs. 

Chapter  V— EGGS  FOR  HATCHING 49 

Selection  of  eggs — Sex  of  eggs — Fertility — Gathering  and  keeping 
eggs — Time    eggs    may    be    kept — Period    of   incubation. 

Chapter  VI— INCUBATION— NATURAL  AND  ARTIFICIAL 55 

How  to  get  good  hatches  with  hens — How  to  get  good  hatches  with 
incubators — How  to  test  eggs  during  incubation — Simple  home- 
made egg  tester. 

Chapter  VII— BROODING  CHICKS  WITH  HENS  AND  WITH  BROODERS.      71 

How  to  brood  chicks  with  hens — Brood  coops  for  hen  and  chicks — 
Let  chicks  range  but  keep  the  hen  confined — How  to  brood  chicks 
in  brooders — Small  heated  brooders — Fireless  brooders — Comfort 
a  better  guide  to  the  right  temperature  than  a  thermometer — 
Patience   needed  in  teaching   chicks. 

Chapter    VIII— CHICK   FOODS    AND    FEEDING    CHICKS 89 

Home-made  chick  food,  how  prepared — Freshly  prepared  foods  best — 
Commercial    foods — Cooked  food — Live   food — Other  necessaries. 

Chapter    IX— GROWING    CHICKS 97 

Weaning  chicks — Colony  coops  and  range— Changes  in  rations — 
Growing  for  stock  birds  and  layers — Chicks  for  market. 

Chapter   X— FACTS   ABOUT  WHITE    DIARRHOEA 107 

W^hat  white  diarrhoea  is — Symptoms  of  the  disease — Causes — Is  there 
more  than  one  form? — Has  germ  of  specific  disease  been  found? — 
Contagion — Prevention — Treatment — Formula  for  a  simple  remedy 
which  has  proved  effective  in  many  cases  in  many  climates  for  four 
years. 

9 


Ehx^ 


CHAPTER   1. 

Selecting  and  Mating  Breeding  Stock 

^O  BE  SUCCESSFUL  in  breeding  poultry,  you  must 
start  right,  get  a  lasting,  solid  foundation.  Breed 
for  health  of  future  generations  of  fowls  by  begin- 
ning now  to  select  your  breeding  stock  for  phys- 
ical soundness,  vitality,  constitutional  vigor — in  a 
word — health.  Keep  them  healthy  by  good  hous- 
ing, good  food,  good  care  and  good  management. 
Get  common  sense  into  your  poultry  keeping. 

Breed  for  health  if  you  wish  to  have  and  pro- 
duce  healthy    chicks.      Feed,    house    and    manage 
for  health  if  you  would  keep  your  stock  healthy. 
Don't   sow   poor   seed.      You   would    not   expect   a 
good  crop  from  poor  seed  corn.     Remember  that 
the  hatching  eggs  are  your  poultry  seed.     You  cannot  get  good  seed 
eggs  from   stock  that  does  not  possess  health — constitutional  vigor. 
Without  good  seed  eggs  you  cannot  get  good  chicks. 

The  breeding  stock  is  the  foundation  of  your  poultry  business, 
the  life  of  your  undertaking  and  the  source  of  the  seed  eggs  from 
which  you  intend  to  produce  chickens.  You  must  have  abundant  con- 
stitutional vigor  in  the  breeding  stock  to  get  vitality  in  the  chicks. 
What  is  vitality?  Vitality  is  the  possession  of  vital  force.  The  power 
to  live  and  thrive. 

Unless  the  breeding  birds  are  sound  and  in  the  best  possible 
condition  for  the  reproduction  of  their  kind,  satisfactory  results  in 
hatchable  eggs  and  sturdy  chicks  cannot  be  obtained.  Condition  has 
been  said  to  be  more  than  half  the  battle  in  winning  prizes  in  the 
show  room.  Physical  condition  is  the  whole  thing  in  the  breeding 
pen  and  without  this  foundation  to  build  on  your  strain  will  be  without 
value.  Eggs  from  healthy,  sound,  well-fed  parent  stock  will  hatch 
strong,  sturdy  chicks,  full  of  vitality,  often  even  under  what  are  con- 
sidered quite  unfavorable  conditions.  Chicks  from  such  stock  are  not 
subject  to  chicken  ailments  and  do  not  become  victims  of  "white  diar- 
rhoea." As  one  breeder  said,  "get  the  right  sort  of  chicks  and  it  will 
take  a  lot  of  abuse  to  kill  'em;  they  are  born  to  live." 

Eggs  from  breeding  stock  that  is  out  of  condition,  either  from 

11 

D.  H.  HILL  LIBRARY 

Nc^rth  ^aroHna  State  College 


12  HOW  TO  RAISE  CHICKS 

abuse  of  inbreeding,  unsanitary  surroundings,  improper  food,  sickness 
or  other  causes,  will  never  produce  chicks  that  are  worth  the  trouble 
it  takes  to  hatch  and  rear  them.  When  chicks  die  in  the  shell,  are 
slow  to  hatch,  or  die  off  in  large  numbers  within  ten  days  after  hatch- 
ing, don't  lay  the  trouble  all  to  faulty  incubation;  investigate  the 
breeding  stock.  With  good  eggs,  incubation  may  be,  and  often  is, 
at  fault;  but  in  very  many  cases  the  eggs  are  not  good  and  the  breed- 
ing stock  is  all  WTong.  Oftentimes  you  will  get  an  exceptional  hatch 
only  to  find  that  the  chicks  die  off  like  sick  flies  in  the  first  ten  days. 
Here  again,  investigate  the  breeding  stock;  errors  of  incubation  may 
have  been  the  cause,  but  it  is  quite  possible  that  the  exceptional  hatch 
was  simply  an  indication  that  nature  was  trying  to  provide  against 
extinction,  because  of  lack  of  constitutional  vigor  in  the  breeding 
stock.  Abuse  sometimes  results  in  remarkable  "provisional  fecun- 
dity," though  the  efforts  of  nature  may  be  futile. 

To  investigate  the  breeding  stock,  go  over  the  birds  carefully  to 
learn  their  physical  condition.  Select  and  mate  them  up  again  as  at 
the  beginning  of  the  season.  Look  carefully  into  the  housing,  care 
and  feeding  of  the  breeding  stock.  You  will  find  in  many  cases  that 
the  cause  lies  with  the  stock  or  their  management.  When  you  find 
the  cause  you  can  prevent  further  trouble  by  avoiding  or  removing 
the  cause.  Breed  for  health  if  you  wish  to  produce  and  have  healthy 
chicks.  Feed,  house  and  manage  for  health  if  you  would  keep  your 
stock  healthy.  Remember  the  three  "C's"  essential  to  health  and  suc- 
cess with  your  fiock — cleanliness,  comfort  and  contentment.  Cleanli- 
ness of  food,  houses,  yards  and  furnishings.  Comfort  and  contentment 
for  the  flock  because  of  good  care,  good  food,  good  housing  and  good 
management. 

The  Male  Bird. — In  many  particulars  what  is  essential  in  a  breed- 
ing male  is  equally  necessary  in  the  breeding  female,  for  convenience 
we  will  consider  these  under  this  head  and  simply  refer  to  them  when 
treating  of  the  section  of  female  breeders. 

From  the  breeding  standpoint  the  male  is  half  of  the  pen;  i.  e., 
you  depend  upon  him  to  fertilize  the  eggs  laid  by  all  the  hens  with 
which  he  is  mated.  For  this  reason,  whatever  else  you  do,  you  cannot 
afford  to  be  careless  or  indifferent  in  your  selection  of  the  cock  or 
cockerel  which  is  to  head  the  pen.  He  should  be  as  near  perfection 
in  constitutional  vigor,  physical  soundness,  health,  as  it  is  possible 
for  you  to  judge.  He  must  be  carefully  watched  to  see  that  he  is 
capable  of  performing  well  the  duty  to  which  he  is  assigned.  The 
eggs  from  his  pen  should  be  incubated  and  tested  at  home  before  any 
are  sold  for  hatching.  Failure  to  observe  these  rules  is  fatal  to  good 
results. 


HOW  TO  RAISE  CHICKS  13 

The  male  should  be  a  good  standard  breeding  specimen  of  the 
variety  which  he  represents,  but  above  all  else  he  should  be  physically 
sound.  Inferior  or  unhealthy  male  birds  have  no  place  whatever  in 
the  breeding  pen.  Never  breed  from  a  bird  that  has  had  or  has  ap- 
parently recovered  from  any  serious  illness.  It  is  always  difficult  to 
determine  whether  a  cure  is  complete  or  not,  and  whether  there  re- 
mains taint  or  chronic  trouble. 

In  selecting  a  male  bird  to  head  the  breeding  pen,  choose  one  that 
is  well  matured;  i.  e.,  full  grown  and  well  filled  out  in  size  and  fully 
furnished  as  to  plumage.     He  should  be  of  good  size  for  the  variety, 

ibut  not  overlarge  for  the  females.  He  should  be  broad-backed,  deep, 
full-breasted,  with  stout,  good-sized  legs,  thighs  well  set  apart  and  no 
tendency  to  a  "knock-kneed"  appearance  at  the  hock  joints;  good 
carriage  and  symmetry,  well-formed  comb  and  wattles,  neither  too 
large  nor  too  small  and  of  a  bright,  healthy  red;  keen,  sharp,  bright 
eyes,  a  bit  full  and  somewhat  egg-shaped  as  to  curve  of  eye  lens  when 
viewed  from  the  rear;  a  well-shaped,  stout  beak  of  medium  length, 
the  whole  head  being  well  proportioned  to  the  body  and  carried  in  a 
manner  that  gives  the  bird  an  alert,  active,  aggressive,  businesslike 
appearance.  He  should  be  in  the  best  possible  condition  physically  and 
capable  of  taking  his  place  as  head  of  the  pen  and  holding  it  against 
all  comers.  His  plumage  should  be  bright  and  well  kept,  legs  and  feet 
clean  and  free  from  swellings  and  scale  mites. 

Do  not  breed  from  any  male  or  female,  no  matter  how  good  or 
how  perfect  it  may  be  in  standard  points,  that  shows  the  following 
faults  which  indicate  unsoundness:  Crow-head  and  hawk  bill,  crooked 
breast  bone,  roach-back  or  other  deformity,  knock  knees,  small,  thin 
shanks  for  the  variety;  badly  rumpled  plumage,  lacking  in  luster  and 
which  seems  to  be  inclined  to  turn  the  wrong  way;  shortness  of 
breath  on  running  or  jumping  or  after  service;  pale  face  and  comb 
or  discolored  face  and  comb;  much  rattling  in  throat;  foul  discharge 
from  the  vent;  blue-green  or  grass-green  stain  from  droppings  on 
plumage  below  vent;  vertigo  (dizziness);  violent  and  frequent  shak- 
ing of  head  with  a  tendency  to  step  backward  or  to  one  side;  stagger- 
ing or  wabbling  gait;  jerking  walk  like  "string  halt";  paralysis  of  any 
kind;  bunches  of  foreign  growths  on  any  part  of  body;  emaciated,  de- 
bilitated condition;  leg  weakness;  foot,  hock  or  wing  ulcers,  swellings 
or  abscesses;  deformities  of  any  kind;  or  any  other  symptom  of  phys- 
ical unsoundness  or  disease. 

Examine  the  mouth  and  throat  carefully  and  discard  the  bird  if 
the  mucous  membrane  is  unhealthy.  Simple  canker  may  be  cured, 
but  if  it  is  obstinate,  and  will  not  yield  to  simple  remedies,  better 
choose  another  bird  that  is  not  so  affected.   Note  carefully  the  condi' 


14  HOW  TO  RAISE  CHICKS 

tion  of  the  legs.  If  they  feel  hot  and  dry,  look  closely  for  other  symp- 
toms of  disease.  Hot,  dry  or  withered  feet  and  legs  means  that  there 
Is  something  wrong  with  the  bird.  It  is  a  sure  sign.  Scaly  leg  is  a 
parasitic  disease  and  does  not  necessarily  disqualify  the  bird  for 
breeding.  It  is  easily  cured,  and  should  be  before  the  bird  is  placed 
in  the  breeding  yard. 

Don't  breed  a  male  lacking  in  constitutional  vigor.  Breeding 
from  an  unsound  male  is  sure  to  result  in  trouble  and  disappointment 
later;  either  he  will  not  fertilize  the  eggs  at  all  or  you  will  get  weak 
germs  and  weak  chicks.  Weak  germs  are  often  the  cause  of  chicks 
dying  at  all  stages  of  development  during  incubation  and  for  several 
days  after  hatching.  There  is  also  always  the  possibility  and  prob- 
ability that  chicks  from  such  source,  if  they  live,  will  inherit  some 
tendency  to  disease  which  will  result  in  losses,  direct  or  indirect,  by 
continuance  of  the  inherited  taint  from  an  unsound  body.  It  often 
takes  years  of  careful  breeding  and  management  to  uproot  evil  of  that 
sort.    Breed  healthy  males  only  and  keep  them  healthy. 

Care  of  the  Male  Bird. — Test  the  male  by  "flirting"  him  with  other 
males  in  the  presence  of  females.  If  he  is  aggressive  and  full  of  fight 
and  does  not  develop  any  of  the  disqualifying  faults  named  above  he 
will  probably  make  a  good  breeder.  If  he  is  cowardly  and  disposed  to 
play  the  craven  I  would  not  advise  using  him  to  breed  from.  Cow- 
ardice in  the  cock  usually  indicates  that  he  has  been  badly  whipped 
at  some  time,  or  it  may  indicate  that  he  is  from  stock  that  has  been 
inbred  too  closely.  Game  fanciers  v/ho  breed  "pit"  stock  for  fighting 
purposes  will  tell  you  that  several  generations  of  incestuous  breeding 
will  result  in  stags  that  are  "quitters"  and  disposed  to  run  after  the 
first  few  blows  are  struck.  A  little  "trying  out,"  without  allowing 
harm  aone,  will  often  prove  a  better  test  of  wind,  lungs  and  heart 
action  than  any  other  method  of  trying  the  bird. 

When  you  get  a  good,  healthy  male  bird  try  to  keep  him  in  good 
condition.  If  he  is  attentive  and  gallant  as  he  should  be  during  the 
breeding  season,  he  may  easily  get  out  of  condition.  Avoid  this  by 
removing  him  from  the  flock  occasionally  and  feed  a  few  tid-bits  of 
fresh,  sweet  meat  (cooked  or  uncooked),  fresh,  green  food  and  a  mix- 
ture of  hard  grains.  You  will  run  no  risk  by  keeping  him  for  a  day 
or  two  away  from  the  hens  in  a  comfortable  coop,  where  he  is  out  of 
sight  and  sound  of  the  females,  and  it  may  save  him  from  wasting  his 
energies  in  useless  service.  This  is  quite  important,  for  an  active, 
gallant  and  attentive  male,  when  running  with  his  flock,  often  does 
not  eat  a  sufficient  amount  of  food  to  keep  him  in  good  order.  A  little 
attention  given  to  supplying  him  with  occasional  meals  away  from 
his  harem  will  be  well  repaid  in  the  results  gained  from  a  valuable 


HOW  TO  RAISE  CHICKS  15 

breeding  bird.  Keeping  the  male  bird  with  the  hens  will  not  insure 
strongly  fertile  eggs  unless  he  is  well  cared  for,  and  kept  in  good 
breeding  condition.  Too  many  breeders  overlook  this  matter  or  fail 
to  consider  it  of  sufficient  importance. 

Do  not  pen  the  breeding  male  up  with  other  males  in  a  flock 
where  there  are  no  females,  it  leads  to  bad  habits  or  injury  far  more 
harmful  than  continuous  running  with  a  flock  of  hens.  I  believe 
that  a  good  many  excellent  breeding  males  have  been  ruined  in  this 
way.  Young  males  develop  better  and  make  better  breeders  when 
brought  up  with  females  and  always  allowed  to  run  with  them.  So 
kept  they  are  less  liable  to  become  sterile  and  as  a  rule  make  better 
all  around  breeders.  The  reverse  seems  to  be  true  of  pullets,  they 
usually  develop  better,  make  better  growth  and  give  better  results 
as  breeders  and  layers  when  not  subjected,  during  their  period  of 
growth  from  eight  weeks  to  maturity,  to  the  over-attentiveness  and 
nagging  of  a  lot  of  husky  young  male  birds.  Raise  your  pullets  in  a 
poultry  convent,  if  you  can,  but  don't  try  the  monastic  method  of 
mangement  for  cockerels. 

If  necessary  to  take  the  male  bird  away  from  the  female  do  not 
keep  him  away  from  them  for  too  long  a  time,  a  few  days  each  month 
for  a  little  change  and  vacation  are  enough,  except  during  the  moult 
when  he  will  be  better  off  for  a  pen  and  run  by  himself  until  well 
feathered. 

The  Female. — The  female  breeders  should  be  selected  with  as 
great  care  as  the  male.  Where  the  requisites  for  selection  of  the  male 
will  apply  to  both  sexes  they  apply  to  the  females.  Health  and  a 
sound  body  should  be  the  first  consideration.  Constitutional  vigor  is 
as  necessary  in  the  female  as  in  the  male.  Size  and  shape  is  the  next 
consideration  and  then  standard  requisites  for  a  good  breeder.  To  a 
large  extent  the  size  and  shape  of  the  female  parent  governs  the  size 
and  shape  of  the  progeny,  though  it  does  not  hold  true  in  all  cases. 
Choose  well-grown,  fully-matured  females  for  breeders.  Do  not  use 
birds  that  have  had  serious  sickness.  Choose  good  layers  rather 
than  exceptional  ones.  Prolific  layers  are  more  liable  to  produce 
infertile  eggs  than  ordinary  good  layers,  chiefly  because  of  the  greater 
number  of  eggs  they  produce  and  inattention  on  the  part  of  the  male, 
as  he  is  less  attentive  to  females  that  have  been  long  established  in 
laying,  as  a  rule. 

The  breeding  female  should  have  a  broad,  deep  body  for  the  vari- 
ety, legs  of  good  size  and  well  set  apart,  tail  well  spread  at  base; 
alert,  active  and  busy;  with  bright  plumage;  bright  eyes,  a  bit  full; 
comb  and  face  bright  and  of  good,  healthy  red  color;  and  other  essen« 


16  HOW  TO  RAISE  CHICKS 

tials  of  a  healthy  bird  mentioned  in  description  of  desirable  qualities 
in  male. 

Unhealthy  hens,  or  hens  which  have  been  sick,  have  no  place  in 
the  breeding  pen.  The  faults  mentioned  above  as  disqualifying  males 
for  breeding  should  also  bar  females  from  the  breeding  pen  and.  in  ad- 
dition to  those  faults  already  mentioned,  no  female  should  be  bred 
that  habitually  lays  misshapen  or  deformed  eggs,  or  eggs  containing 
blood  clots.  Hens  broken  down  behind,  or  those  having  abdominal 
tumors,  which  cause  abdomen  to  drag  on  the  ground,  should  not  be 
used  in  the  breeding  pen. 

The  use  of  trap  nests  is  an  invaluable  aid  in  the  selection  of 
breeding  females  and  in  detecting  sterile  hens.  Some  hens  seldom 
produce  eggs  that  will  hatch  and  from  one  cause  or  another  are  prac- 
tically sterile.  Such  birds  should  not  be  permitted  in  the  breeding 
pen.  The  men  with  the  most  experience  in  practical  poultry  work 
are  not  disposed  to  believe  in  any  certain  "egg  type"  that  will  indi- 
cate prolific  layers.  The  good  layers  usually  come  in  about  all  of 
the  many  types  to  be  found  in  all  varieties.  The  only  sure  means  of 
determining  which  hens  pay  as  breeders  is  to  trap  nest,  keep  an  indi- 
vidual egg  record  and  a  hatching  record. 

Mating. — It  is  conceded  that  it  is  necessary  to  inbreed  in  order  to 
secure  the  best  results  in  fancy  points.  Some  breeders  go  so  far  as 
to  say  that  it  is  quite  necessary  to  inbreed  to  secure  utility  values, 
like  heavy  laying  and  quick  growing  meat.  I  beg  to  doubt  this  last 
and  will  have  to  be  shown.  Introduction  of  new  blood  (crossing) 
usually  stimulates  egg  production  and  promotes  quick  and  good 
growth  in  the  offspring  of  the  cross.  If  it  is  true  that  inbreeding 
brings  constant  improvement  in  utility  values,  then  why  do  so  many 
practical  men  who  grow  for  market  show  a  preference  for  first 
crosses?  Again,  why  is  it  that  so  many  strains  that  have  been  sub- 
jected to  incestuous  breeding  for  generations  do  not  show  improve- 
ment in  utility  values,  but  are  often  found  lacking  in  size,  less  vigor- 
ous, often  sterile,  and  why  should  there  be  a  tendency  for  their  eggs 
to  come  smaller  also?  I  have  repeatedly  found  breeders  who  com- 
plain of  such  faults  in  closely  inbred  strains. 

Where  you  must  inbreed.  be  sure  that  the  breeding  birds  are  pos- 
sessed of  abundant  constitutional  vigor  and  let  the  relationship  be 
as  distant  between  the  breeders  as  is  consistent  with  obtaining  the 
results  you  are  working  for.  A  noted  pigeon  fancier,  who  has  bred  a 
lot  of  good  ones  the  past  thirty  years,  told  me  that  he  had  to  inbreed 
very  carefully  and  that  he  had  always  kept  a  record  of  all  of  his 
birds  from  the  start  and  could  know  the  relationship  by  reference 
to  his  records.     He  had  found  that  too  close  inbreeding  produced 


HOW  TO  RAISE  CHICKS  17 

undesirable  results,  loss  of  vigor,  'idiocy"  (and  he  showed  me  some 
pigeon  "idiots"  to  prove  his  claim — they  surely  looked  and  acted  the 
part;,  less  resistance  to  disease,  diseases  of  the  nervous  system  and 
liability  to  "fits."  He  considered  breeding  brother  to  sister  the  most 
harmful  form  of  incestuous  breeding  and  stated  that  he  had  proved 
to  his  own  satisfaction  that  it  was  not  wise  to  breed  closer  relation- 
ships than  uncles,  aunts  and  second,  third  and  fourth  (or  more  dis- 
tant) cousins.  If  this  is  true  in  pigeon  breeding,  why  is  it  not  true 
also  in  poultry  breeding? 

In  mating  up  the  pens  avoid,  so  far  as  possible,  using  males 
and  females  possessing  the  same  or  similar  faults  (this  is  partic- 
ularly necessary  where  inbreeding  is  practiced),  as  where  the  faults 
are  similar  on  both  male  and  female  sides  of  pen  there  is  more  lia- 
bility of  a  tendency  to  possess  these  faults  in  the  progeny. 

As  a  general  rule,  the  best  results  in  hatchable  eggs  and  livable 
chicks  will  be  obtained  by  mating  fully  matured,  healthy  cockerels 
with  healthy  yearling  or  two-year-old  hens;  or  by  mating  a  strong, 
vigorous,  healthy  yearling  or  two-year-old  male  and  fully  matured, 
well-grown,  healthy  pullets.  Under  such  conditions  there  will  be  no 
cause  for  worry  about  the  eggs  producing  weakling  or  imperfect 
chicks.  Birds  that  are  not  full  grown  (fully  matured)  should  not  be 
bred.  It  is  seldom  advisable  to  breed  birds  that  are  more  than  thirty 
months  old  at  the  beginning  of  the  breeding  season. 

Number  of  Females  to  a  Male. — The  number  of  females  which  may 
be  successfully  mated  with  a  cock  or  cockerel  depends  largely  upon 
conditions  and  upon  the  male  bird.  Commonly,  ten  females  to  a  male 
is  considered  a  sufficient  number  for  a  cock  and  fifteen  for  a  cockerel. 
Some  males  will  not  properly  care  for  half  that  number  and  some  will 
serve  well  twice  as  many.  Often  a  male,  which  in  confinement  would 
not  give  any  too  good  results  with  a  dozen  hens,  will  easily  serve 
twenty-five  or  thirty  hens  when  on  free  range,  with  good  results. 

The  number  of  hens  a  male  should  have  also  depends  a  good 
deal  on  how  many  of  them  are  laying  and  how  recently  they  began 
to  lay.  Test  the  eggs  often  by  incubating  them,  for  it  is  the  only  way 
to  determine  the  result  of  the  mating. 

The  Service. — The  service  is  the  "covering"  of  the  females  by  the 
male,  which  should  result  in  fertilization  of  the  eggs.  After  the  intro- 
duction of  a  male  to  the  fiock  it  is  possible  to  obtain  eggs  in  a  few 
days  that  will  hatch  chicks  of  his  get — though,  if  another  male  has 
preceded  him,  it  may  be  two  weeks  (possibly  longer)  before  all  eggs 
can  be  safely  credited  as  fertilized  by  the  male  last  introduced. 

How  soon  or  how  long  after  service  impregnation  of  the  egs 
takes  place  is  not  known.    It  is  probable  that  it  may  occur  as  early  as 


18  HOW  TO  RAISE  CHICKS 

within  16  to  24  hours  after  service,  but  it  is  certain  that  a  much 
longer  time  often  dees  elapse  between  the  act  of  service  and  actual 
impregnation  of  the  ovum.  The  sperm  of  the  male  is  capable  of 
living  a  long  time  in  the  oviduct,  under  favorable  conditions,  remain- 
ing active  and  possessing  full  power  to  impregnate  any  ripe  non- 
fertilized  ovum  with  which  it  comes  in  contact.  Where  crosses  have 
been  made  it  has  been  found  that  the  character  of  the  fluids  moist- 
ening the  lining  of  the  duct  undoubtedly  vary  in  chemical  properties 
in  different  varieties,  so  that,  for  example,  the  sperm  of  a  Game 
might  not  live  as  long,  or  find  conditions  so  favorable,  in  the  oviduct 
of  a  Rock  or  Orpington  as  it  would  in  that  of  a  Game  female,  with 
the  result  there  might  be  less  fertile  eggs  produced.  In  some  cases 
the  reverse  of  these  conditions  might  exist. 

It  has  been  proved  by  many  experiments  that  one  service,  under 
favorable  conditions,  will  often  suffice  to  fertilize  the  majority  of  eggs 
laid  from  the  second  day  thereafter  for  a  period  of  two  weeks.  Some 
observers  claim  that  one  service  is  sufficient  for  one  month,  providing 
the  hen  is  just  starting  to  lay  her  litter  at  the  time  of  serving. 

From  this  it  follows  that  it  is  not  necessary  to  waste  the  strength 
of  a  valuable  male  bird  in  promiscuous  and  useless  service.  Where 
a  breeder  possesses  a  particularly  fine  male  from  which  he  desires  to 
obtain  the  greatest  number  of  chicks  possible,  he  could  be  made  to 
care  for  a  very  considerable  flock  by  mating  him  only  with  birds  about 
to  begin  their  lay;  or  by  dividing  the  layers  into  several  flocks  and 
permitting  the  male  to  run  a  few  days  twice  a  month  with  each  flock, 
giving  him  a  brief  interval  of  rest  and  good  care  between,  he  could 
be  made  to  cover  a  very  large  number  of  females. 

It  is  quite  practicable  to  keep  a  particularly  flne  breeding  cock 
"at  stud,"  as  is  common  with  other  domestic  animals  and  to  bring 
females  to  him  for  service  at  regular  intervals,  say,  once  a  week,  or 
even  every  two  weeks,  always  endeavoring  to  have  the  hen  well 
served  when  about  to  begin  her  lay. 

Fecundity  versus  Sterility. — It  is  often  stated  that  the  prolific 
layer  after  producing  a  considerable  number  of  eggs  is  prone  to  be- 
come sterile,  or  that  a  large  number  of  her  eggs  come  infertile.  With- 
out doubt  this  is  a  fact,  yet  the  fault  does  not  necessarily  lie  with 
the  hen.  Often  it  can  be  proved  that  it  is  not  the  fault  of  the  hen  by 
giving  her  a  new  mate,  when,  as  a  rule,  her  eggs  will  again  come  a 
good  per  cent  fertile. 

This  is,  in  part,  explained  by  the  fact  easily  observed,  but  to  date 
mentioned  by  very  few  writers  on  the  subject  (Mr.  E.  Cook,  author 
of  "Incubation,"  published  in  England,  was  one  of  the  first  to  give 
this  explanation),  that  the  male  when  introduced  into  a  flock  of  hens 


HOW  TO  RAISE  CHICKS  19 

is  soon  surrounded  by  the  layers  or  those  about  to  begin  laying  and 
that  he  IS  usually  particularly  attentive  to  those  near  laying  or  lately 
become  productive,  while  those  hens  which  have  been  laying  some 
time  or  which  are  unproductive  are  more  or  less  neglected 

Failure  to  serve  these  prolific  mates  sufficiently  often    and  the 
fact  that  the  male  usually  has  his  favorites  in  the  flock,  is  in  a  large 
measure   responsible  for  the   proportion  of   infertile    eggs   produced 
With  prolific  layers,  there  being  more  eggs  produced,  it  is  reasonable 
to  expect  that  more  eggs  will  escape  impregnation,  not  because  of 
lack  of  vigor  (though  that  may  enter  into  it  in  some  cases),  but  often 
for  the  same  reason  that  grass  seldom  grows  on  a  well  traveled  road 
Where  the   service   is   frequent,   eggs   which   escape   fertilization 
in  the  first  service  may  become  fertilized  by  the  second  or  any  suc- 
ceeding service.    This  explains  why  it  is  possible  for  a  hen  to  lay  eggs 
which  produce  chicks  having  the  characteristics  of  more  than  one 
sire,  although  one  of  the  parent  males  has  been  allowed  to  run  with 
the  flock  but  a  short  time.     For  example:    If  cock  No.  1  has  served 
a  hen  at  the  beginning  of  her  lay  and  cock  No.  2  be  then  introduced 
for  service  his  seed  will  be  likely  to  impregnate  eggs  which  escaped 
the  service  of  No.  1  (or  the  most  active  sperms  of  either  may  do  the 
work),  with  the  result  that  a  part  of  the  eggs  in  this  hen's  litter  pro- 
duce chicks  that  are  the  get  of  No.  1  and  the  balance  the  get  of  No   2 
Some  birds  of  both  sexes  are  absolutely  sterile— incapable  of  re- 
production.   This  may  result  from  many  causes,  but  chiefly  is  due  to 
disease  or  hereditary  fault.     When  discovered  such  specimens  should 
be  killed  and  marketed. 

Overshowing,  in  both  sexes,  is  sometimes  a  cause  of  sterility. 
Any  other  form  of  abuse  may  produce  a  like  result.  Prolonged  pro- 
hfic  laying  combined  with  lack  of  care  or  insufficient  food  of  variety 
sufficient  for  perfect  egg-making,  is  another  cause.  Such  sterility 
may  be  only  temporary  and  when  the  bird  is  put  in  good  condition, 
after  a  sufficient  period  of  rest,  good  results  may  again  be  obtained. 
Where  sterility  is  the  result  of  hereditary  taint  or  disease,  no  improve- 
ment can  be  expected. 

h  K-f 'l??^  ""^  cockerels  in  celibacy  often  results  in  abuse  and  bad 
habits  that  cause  permanent  sterility.  I  have  seen  many  good  cock- 
erels rumed  as  breeders  by  growing  them  in  flocks  of  males  exclu- 
sively, with  no  opportunity  to  run  with  the  females.  While  it  is  un- 
doubtedly a  good  thing  to  keep  the  pullets  free  from  annoyance  by 
young  males  while  growing,  it  appears  equally  certain  that  males 
intended  for  breeders  are  better  for  being  grown  on  range  with  a  num- 
ber of  healthy  adult  hens.  Males  so  reared  are  less  likely  to  be  abu- 
sive when  introduced  into  the  breeding  pen  and  are  much  less  likely 


20  HOW  TO  RAISE  CHICKS 

to  "go  to  pieces"  in  a  few  weeks  of  breeding  than  cockerels  grown 
by  the  monastic  method.  If  for  any  reason  it  is  necessary  to  herd  a 
lot  of  young  cockerels  in  a  flock  away  from  the  females,  be  sure  to 
put  one  or  two  strong  old  cocks  with  them  to  keep  them  in  order  and 
teach  them  good  manners. 

A  male  bird,  given  all  the  females  he  can  attend  to  during  his 
first  season,  will  often  wear  himself  out  and  become  practically  sterile 
and  useless  as  a  breeder  the  following  year.  Mating  up  the  pens  in 
the  fall  and  permitting  the  birds  to  run  together  throughout  the  year 
is,  in  some  cases,  responsible  for  low  fertility  of  the  eggs  from  that 
pen.  The  cock  bird  needs  intervals  of  rest,  as  do  the  females,  but  he 
should  not  be  kept  from  his  mates  long  enough  to  become  morose 
and  indifferent.  Extremes  in  either  respect  bring  unsatisfactory  re- 
sults. It  is  not  reasonable  to  expect  a  male,  that  has  been  running 
with  a  flock  of  hens  throughout  a  long  season,  to  possess  strong 
fecundity  unless  he  has  been  particularly  well  cared  for.  See  "care 
of  the  male  bird." 

There  is  only  one  way  to  test  the  fecundity  of  the  male  bird  and 
that  is  by  mating  him  to  several  females  and  then  incubating  the 
eggs  from  the  mating.  If  the  eggs  do  not  show  a  good  percentage 
of  fertility,  the  male  is  probably  useless  as  a  breeder.  If  he  is  spe- 
cially desired  as  a  sire,  he  may  be  further  tried  out  with  one  to  three 
hens  and  the  test  repeated. 

Sterile  females  can  be  identified  by  means  of  trap  nests  and 
Individual  egg  records.  If  after  incubating  a  number  of  eggs  from 
any  hen  a  large  per  cent  prove  infertile,  try  her  with  another  male 
and  test  the  eggs  again.  If  she  still  fails  to  produce  fertile  eggs  in 
sufficient  numbers  to  make  her  worth  using,  discard  her. 

Hens  with  very  long,  downy  fluff  (like  Cochins  and  Brahmas)  will 
sometimes  appear  sterile  when  the  trouble  is  interference  with  ser- 
vice. If  the  fluff  is  plucked  or  clipped,  so  that  the  seed  of  the  male 
reaches  its  destination  and  is  not  lost  in  the  plumage,  they  usually 
prove  all  right  as  breeders  and  produce  their  share  of  fertile  eggs. 


CHAPTER   II. 

Food— Vegetable,  Animal  and  Mineral 

"""  ^.lOOD  is  matter  that  is  eaten  for  nourishment.  It  is 

L^  '      nutriment    that    is    fed    upon    by    being    received 
J/  within  the  animal  or  plant  and  being  assimilated 

H  supplies  material  for  the  building  up  and  repair 
of  the  body  or  plant,  furnishes  energy  for  work 
and  heat  and  supplies  a  surplus  for  storage  for 
future  need  and  a  surplus  for  the  purposes  of  re- 
production. It  is  possible  to  feed  fowls  such  a 
scanty  supply  of  food  that  there  will  only  be 
enough  to  support  life  and  no  surplus  provided 
1^  for   storage    (fat   making)    or   for   productive  pur- 

'  poses.     That  is  often  the  reason  why  poor  feeders 

seldom  get  eggs. 
All  kinds  of  poultry  are  omniverous  and  require  vegetable,  animal 
and  mineral  food.  The  fact  that  they  are  omniverous  does  not  mean 
that  they  can  or  should  get  along  with  one  kind  of  food,  but  rather 
that  variety  is  necessary  and  that  to  obtain  results  from  our  fowls 
we  must  feed  all  three  sorts— vegetable  food,  animal  food  and  min- 
eral food. 

The  vegetable  foods  are  those  which  are  suplied  by  feeding  on 
plant  life,  like  clover,  grass,  alfalfa,  beets,  potatoes,  grains,  etc.  Ani- 
mal foods  are  those  supplied  by  the  flesh  and  bone  of  animals  like 
meat,  fish,  green  cut  bone,  beef  scrap,  milk  and  its  by-products,  eggs, 
etc.  All  vegetable  and  animal  foods  contain  more  or  less  mineral 
food.  In  addition  to  the  mineral  matter  supplied  in  vegetable  and 
animal  foods,  mineral  foods  are  also  supplied  in  salt,  which  is  used  as 
a  condiment,  and  in  grit,  shells  and  dried  bones.  It  is  now  believed 
by  many  observers  that  the  most  important  part  played  by  grit  and 
shell  in  the  economy  of  the  fowl  is  not  primarily  a  mechanical  office, 
that  of  grinding  food,  but  that  a  large  proportion  of  it  is  properly 
digested  and  assimilated  to  serve  as  a  necessary  supply  of  mineral 
food,  which  is  particularly  rich  in  blood  and  feather  making  material. 
The  Chief  Source  of  All  Food. — Plant  life  is  the  chief  source  of 
all  poultry  food,  of  all  foods,  in  fact.  From  plants  and  their  produc- 
tions we  obtain  our  supply  of  animal  food,  since  both  cattle  and  sheep, 

21 


22  HOW  TO  RAISE  CHICKS 

our  most  important  food  animals,  are  herbivora,  feeding  almost  exclu- 
sively on  vegetable  matter  (grasses  and  grains).  Therefore  we  can 
consider  plant  life,  in  one  form  or  another,  as  the  most  important 
source  of  all  poultry  food;  either  directly  in  the  form  of  vegetables, 
grasses  and  grains,  or  indirectly  through  animals  or  insects  which 
have  fe<l  upon  plants  and  plant  products. 

This  should  interest  us  in  the  essentials  of  plant  life  that  we  may 
better  understand  food  and  what  it  is.  In  chemistry  any  substance 
which  cannot  be  decomposed  into  different  kinds  of  matter  by  any 
known  means  is  termed  an  element.  Among  the  elements  which  we 
know  are  essential  to  plant  life  are  carbon,  hydrogen,  oxygen,  nitrogen 
potassium,  calcium,  magnesium,  phosphorus,  iron,  chlorine  and  sul- 
phur. With  the  exception  of  oxygen  the  plant  cannot  make  use  of 
these  elements  in  an  uncombined  form.  Indirectly  through  certain 
bacteria  which  absorb  nitrogen  this  element  also  may  be  received  by 
some  varieties  of  plants.  Mineral  matter  in  the  form  of  salts  of  the 
mineral  elements  supply  food  for  the  plant,  being  taken  up  by  its 
roots,  and  these  occur  chiefly  as  phosphates,  nitrates,  sulphates  and 
chlorides  of  lime,  potash,  iron  and  magnesium.  Hydrogen  and  oxygen 
in  the  form  of  water  constitute  a  most  important  part  of  all  vegetable 
matter.  Some  vegetables  contain  as  high  as  90  per  cent  of  water. 
Water  is,  therefore,  an  important  essential  to  plant  life.  Next  to 
water,  carbon  dioxide  (carbonic  acid  gas),  a  combination  of  carbon 
and  oxygen,  is  largely  used  for  sustenance  and  plant  building.  Sun- 
light supplies  the  energy  for  plant  life  and  growth  and  also  con- 
tributes something  toward  its  development,  causing  the  formation  of 
chlorophyll,  the  substance  which  gives  the  green  color  to  the  leaves 
and  stems. 

How  the  Plant  Grows. — All  plants,  like  animals,  are  endowed  with 
the  life  principle  which  directs  their  growth  and  development.  In  the 
seeds  and  grains  this  life  principle  is  for  a  time  dormant  and  wait- 
ing for  proper  conditions  for  awakening.  Also,  like  animals,  all  plants 
are  made  up  of  a  multitude  of  live  cells  and  their  productions.  Each 
active  cell  is  a  living  organism  made  up  of  encapsulated  protoplasm 
and  is  capable  of  reproduction  by  the  spontaneous  division  of  the  cell 
into  two  or  more  perfect  cells.  Protoplasm  is  a  jelly-like  albuminous 
substance. 

From  the  sun  the  plant  derives  its  energy  for  growth  and  develop- 
ment. This  energy  within  the  cells  under  the  direction  of  the  life 
principle  works  the  wonderful  changes  which  we  observe  in  the  grow- 
ing plant.  Carbon,  hydrogen  and  oxygen  in  combined  form  as  carbonic 
acid  gas  and  water  are  absorbed  by  the  plant  as  food  and  converted 
into  carbohydrates   in  the  form  of  starch,  cellulose,   cane   sugar  and 


HOW  TO  RAISE  CHICKS  23 

glucose.  Vegetable  oils  or  fats  found  chiefly  in  the  seeds  and  grains 
are  also  manufactured  by  the  combinations  of  carbon,  hydrogen  and 
oxygen. 

Nitrogen  and  sulphur,  taken  up  by  the  plant  roots,  in  the  form  of 
nitrates  and  sulphates,  are  combined  with  a  portion  of  the  starchy 
matter  to  form  a  nitrogenous  compound  known  as  protein.  Protein 
is  a  complex  nitrogenous  substance,  the  most  important  food  element, 
and,  so  far  as  known,  the  only  one  that  can  be  converted  into  flesh 
and  body  tissue  when  assimilated  by  an  animal.  Cell  protoplasm  is 
a  protein  substance.  Gluten,  an  albuminous  substance  found  largely 
in  grain,  is  another  example  of  protein  compound.  Various  other 
protein  or  complex  nitrogenous  compounds  are  concerned  in  the 
make-up  of  the  plant  or  its  products  and  the  value  of  the  vegetable 
matter  as  a  food  is  based  upon  its  protein  content. 

Food  Elements. — For  convenience  of  study  and  because  of  their 
chemical  composition  and  special  uses  as  food,  all  elements  are  di- 
vided into  groups  so  that  foodstuffs  may  be  said  to  contain  but  five 
essentials:  Water,  which  is  always  present,  no  matter  how  dry  the 
food  may  appear  to  be,  ranging  from  as  low  as  10  per  cent  to  as  high 
as  90  per  cent;  protein,  consisting  of  albumin  and  other  nitrogenous 
compounds;  carbohydi-ates,  non-nitrogenous  compounds  like  starch, 
cellulose,  sugar  and  glucose;  fats  or  vegetable  oils,  and  ash  or  min- 
eral matter. 

The  plant  food  when  consumed  by  the  animal  becomes  converted 
into  tissue  building  material,  fat,  and  energy  in  the  form  of  work  and 
heat.  The  waste  which  is  voided  by  the  animal  serves  as  fertilizer, 
returning  food  elements  to  the  earth.  The  process  is  further  con- 
tinued by  the  animal  becoming  food  for  other  animals  until  eventually 
the  food  elements,  multiplied  by  the  manufacturing  process  going  on 
in  all  living  matter,  whether  vegetable  or  animal,  are  returned  to  the 
earth  or  air  to  serve  as  a  source  of  food  for  repeating  the  process 
over  and  over  again. 

Protein,  a  complex  nitrogenous  compound,  is  the  most  valuable 
constituent  of  all  food.  Animal  protein  (contained  in  meat  food)  is 
considered  more  available  and  more  perfectly  digestible  than  veg- 
etable protein.  It  has  been  demonstrated  that  some  animal  food  is 
necessary  to  health  of  poultry.  How  animal  protein  differs  from  veg- 
etable protein  we  do  not  know,  but  the  latter  will  not  completely  take 
the  place  of  animal  protein.  Protein  is  the  most  valuable  and  it  is 
the  most  costly  food  element.  It  has  the  widest  range  of  uses  within 
the  body.  Its  chief  value  is  as  a  tissue  builder.  It  furnishes  material 
for  tissue  building  and  repair.     It  contributes  largely  to  the  manufac- 


24  HOW  TO  RAISE  CHICKS 

ture  of  eggs.  It  is  convertible  also  into  fat  and  heat.  The  waste 
from  protein  is  more  dangerous  and  more  difficult  to  get  rid  of  than 
that  of  other  food  constituents,  so  that  aside  from  an  economical  point 
of  view,  it  is  unwise  to  feed  a  very  narrow  (excessively  nitrogenous) 
ration. 

Carbohydrates  are  believed  to  be  chiefly  heat  producing.  They 
supply  fuel,  energy,  to  be  converted  into  work  and  heat.  Whether 
or  not  they  are  available  for  any  other  purpose  is  still  an  open 
question.  It  is  thought  that  they  cannot  be  converted  into  fat,  but  act 
rather  as  a  fat  saver  by  furnishing  fuel  to  be  consumed  in  place  of  fat. 
In  experiments  with  ducks  fed  abundantly  on  rice,  which  contains 
much  carbohydrate  and  little  protein  and  fat,  the  ducks  remained 
lean;  when  fat  was  added  to  the  food  they  put  on  fat.  The  liver, 
besides  manufacturing  bile  for  use  in  digesting  and  assimilating  food, 
seems  to  act  as  a  manufactory  and  storehouse  of  partially  converted 
carbohydrates  and  it  deals  them  out  in  the  form  of  a  partially  con- 
verted starch  that  is  readily  transformed  into  a  sugar  easily  assim- 
ilated by  the  tissues.  Where  carbohydrates  are  greatly  in  excess  of 
their  due  proportion  in  the  ration,  a  too  starchy  diet,  the  liver  is 
overtaxed  and  we  get  so-called  "liver  troubles." 

Fats  are  available  for  energy,  work  and  heat,  and  may  be  stored 
for  future  use  within  the  body,  or  so  disposed  of  as  to  be  of  service 
as  insulators  to  protect  the  body  against  too  rapid  loss  of  heat.  They 
serve  as  fuel  for  growing  and  working  cells.  The  fats  are  carried 
to  the  cells  in  the  form  of  minute  fat  droplets  and  undergo  chemical 
changes  within  the  cells  before  being  deposited  in  storage  as  fat 
tissue.  Fats  also  contribute  their  share  to  egg  formation.  Fats  are 
important  food  and  necessarj^  to  life  and  health.  An  excess  of  fatty 
food  is  not  desirable. 

Mineral  matter,  or  "ash,"  is  found  in  all  foods  and  is  usually  pres- 
ent in  sufficient  quantity  to  supply  the  needs  of  the  body,  provided 
a  good  variety  of  food  is  fed.  It  is  chiefly  concerned  in  the  building 
of  bone  and  making  egg  shells,  although  it  is  found  in  varying  quan- 
tity in  all  of  the  tissues  of  the  body,  to  all  of  which  a  supply  of  min- 
eral matter  in  one  form  or  another  is  essential  to  the  life  and  health 
of  the  individual.  It  is  believed  to  also  play  an  important  part  in  the 
digestion  of  food  by  aiding  assimilation.  It  is  claimed  that  in  some 
sections,  owing  to  the  depletion  of  the  soil  through  frequent  growing 
of  large  crops  and  through  use  of  soils  lacking  in  some  essential  min- 
erals, our  grain  foods  are  less  rich  in  mineral  food  than  formerly, 
and  therefore  it  is  now  more  than  ever  necessary  to  supply  our  fowls 
with  mineral  food  in  another  form.  This  is  a  matter  which  needs 
careful  investigation. 


CHAPTER   III 

Fowls  and  Food 


THE  living  fowl  is  often  likened  to  a  machine,  but 
the  comparison  is  hardly  just  to  such  a  wonder- 
ful complex  organism  as  the  living  body.  It  is 
more  like  a  living  city  peopled  by  a  myriad  of  live 
cells,  each  with  its  own  duty  to  perform.  There 
is  a  great  supply  system  for  receiving  food  and 
fuel,  the  digestive  and  respiratory  organs,  which, 
with  the  tissues,  also  represent  great  manufactur- 
ing plants  capable  of  converting  food  and  fuel  into 
heat,  work  and  building  materials  for  the  repair, 
maintenance  and  development  of  various  parts  of 
the  body.  With  these  manufacturing  plants  are 
intimately  connected  great  storehouses  to  be  called 
upon  in  time  of  need,  like  fat  tissue  and  the  liver.  There  is  a  great 
system  of  transportation,  the  circulatory  system,  for  carrying  supplies 
and  some  workers  to  various  parts  of  the  body,  and  returning  waste 
products  to  the  excretory  organs,  which  last  represent  a  most  remark- 
able system  for  getting  rid  of  undesirable  matter.  Then  there  is  the 
nervous  system,  which  has  its  headquarters  in  the  brain  and  spinal 
cord,  with  substations  and  telegraph  lines  communicating  with  all 
parts  of  the  body,  which  governs,  polices  and  regulates  the  whole. 
Presiding  over  all  this  is  something  supreme  and  about  which  we 
know  next  to  nothing — the  Life  Principle. 

Xt  is  not  remarkable  that  when  we  attempt  to  convert  this  won- 
derful living  body — the  like  of  which  we  have  no  povv'er  to  create  and 
which  we  cannot  make  live  v/hen  death  has  grasped  it,  but  which  pos- 
sesses the  ability  to  reproduce  itself  while  living — into  a  mere  man- 
made,  man-operated  machine,  we  meet  with  obstacles  which  we  fail  to 
understand  the  meaning  of.  The  wonder  is  that  we  succeed  in  con- 
trolling it  and  making  it  serve  us  as  well  as  we  do. 

The  Living  Cells. — The  fowl's  body,  like  the  live  plant  (see  Chap- 
ter II.  "Food — Vegetable,  Animal  and  Mineral,")  is  made  up  of  an 
infinite  number  of  living  cells  and  their  productions.  These  cells  have 
various  duties  to  perform,  and  while  some  are  confined  to  their  special 
department  and  gifted  only  with  passive  movement,  there  are  others 

25 

D.  H.  HILL  LIBRARY 


26  HOW  TO  RAISE  CHICKS 

more  active  which  travel  all  over  the  body.  All  are  concerned  in  the 
maintenance  of  the  body.  Some  of  the  active  cells  serve  as  an  army 
to  repel  invaders  in  the  form  of  disease  germs.  As  long  as  this  army 
has  its  ranks  well  filled  with  normal  healthy  active  fighting  cells, 
always  to  be  found  in  the  normal  healthy  body,  there  is  little  danger 
from  the  germs  of  disease.  It  is  only  when  the  army  has  been  abused, 
ill  fed  and  ill  treated,  put  out  of  good  fighting  trim,  that  invading  dis- 
ease germs  get  a  foothold  and  the  upper  hand,  and  this  army  of  fight- 
ing cells  has  wonderful  recuperative  and  rallying  powers  and  only 
needs  to  be  given  a  fair  chance  to  drive  out  the  invaders.  A  few  cells 
may  neglect  their  duty  and  no  harmful  result  is  apparent;  but  let  a 
number  of  cells  combine  and,  like  organized  labor,  go  on  a  strike  for 
cause,  then  there  will  be  trouble  until  the  cause  is  removed  and  the 
dissatisfied   population  is   put  to  rights  again. 

Chemistry  of  the  Fowl's  Body. — Chemically,  the  fowl's  body  is 
mad-e  up  of  water,  protein,  fats,  mineral  matter  and  some  carbohy- 
drates (partially  converted  starches  and  sugars,  these  appearing  chiefly 
as  stored  fuel  manufactured  from  food).  Accurate  knowledge  of  the 
chemical  compounds  which  exist  in  the  living  body  and  their  exact 
disposition  and  relation  to  each  other  is  practically  impossible,  as  in 
order  to  make  an  analysis  the  complex  living  matter  must  be  killed 
and  broken  down,  leaving  only  the  debris  for  examination.  Accurate 
knowledge  of  the  changes  w^hich  take  place  during  the  digestion  and 
assimilation  of  food  is  likewise  difficult,  as  we  must  first  induce  an 
unnatural  condition  or  kill  the  fowl  before  we  can  observe  what  is 
going  on  within  it.  The  restraint  and  fear  brought  about  by  handling 
fowls  under  observation  produces  unnatural  conditions  which  inter- 
fere with  any  attempt  to  observe  body  functions.  Obviously  much 
must  be  left  to  be  drawn  from  theory.  The  theories,  however,  are 
ably  supported  by  the  result  of  careful  experiments  based  upon  them. 

It  is  possible  to  prepare  food  of  known  chemical  composition,  and 
after  feeding  same  and  making  an  analysis  of  the  waste  disposed  of, 
to  estimate  the  amount  of  each  constituent  of  food  digested.  But  the 
conditions  governing  the  experiment  are  necessarily  artificial,  and  the 
results  do  not  show  how  the  fowl  disposes  of  what  it  digests  or  that  a 
fowl  would  digest  a  like  proportion  of  food  in  a  like  manner  under  nor- 
mal natural  conditions.  The  fact  that  the  experimenter  is  dealing 
with  a  complex  living  organism,  subject  to  influences  of  which  he  has 
little  or  no  accurate  knowledge,  makes  it  difficult  to  approach  any- 
thing like  exactitude  in  results.  A  skilful  experimenter,  no  matter 
how  sincere  and  honest  he  may  be,  may  deceive  himself  and  he  may 
"prove"  almost  anything  he  sets  out  to  demonstrate  to  his  own  sat- 
isfaction, and  that  of  his  following,  when  handling  live  stock.     All 


HOW  TO  RAISE  CHICKS  27 

he  can  really  show  or  prove  is  that  under  certain  conditions,  with  cer- 
tain fowls  and  certain  methods  he  obtained  such  results,  but  another 
man  with  different  fowls  may  follow  his  lead  as  exactly  as  it  is  pos- 
sible for  him  to  do,  and  the  results  will  be  widely  different.  Could 
several  experimenters  conduct  the  same  experiments  in  the  same 
manner  and  arrive  at  the  same  or  very  similar  results  and  be  able  to 
repeat  the  same  experiments  with  the  same  results  for  several  sea- 
sons, then  we  might  consider  we  had  some  real  proof,  but  to  date 
we  do  not  know  of  any  such. 

Disposition  of  Food  Varies  With  Individuals. — It  has  been  demon- 
strated by  experiment  with  animals  that  the  difference  in  individuals 
in  the  proportion  of  the  food  digested  of  a  given  ration  is  not  as  great 
as  is  popularly  supposed.  This  may  be  a  fact  but  there  is  nothing  to 
show  that  each  individual  makes  the  same  use  of  the  food  digested. 
Several  individuals  of  the  same  variety  might  digest  a  like  amount 
of  the  different  constituents  of  a  ration,  but  the  disposal  each  would 
make  of  the  digested  matter  would  vary  widely.  One  might  make 
heat  and  fat  where  another  converted  it  into  eggs  and  meat. 

The  disposal  of  digested  matter  will  vary  from  time  to  time  ac- 
cording to  the  needs  of  the  individual  and  according  to  the  manner 
in  which  different  parts  of  its  body  assimilate  certain  food  elements 
or  perform  certain  functions.  "Nature"  will  choose  as  she  elects  and 
not  wholly  as  we  may  direct.  An  exactly  balanced  ration  that  will 
cover  all  conditions  and  meet  all  individuals  on  a  common  ground 
from  day  to  day  with  uniformly  good  results  is  not  practical,  possible 
or  desirable.  To  balance  a  ration  as  accurately  as  some  folks  would 
have  us  believe  they  do  it,  would  require  the  gift  of  second  sight  and 
a  daily  change  in  the  make-up  of  the  ration  and  its  food  values.  Such 
finickyness  is  not  necessary. 

The  chemical  analysis  of  a  food  is  of  value  only  as  it  shows  us 
the  make-up  of  the  food,  and  saves  us  from  feeding  an  excess  of 
costly  unnecessary  material.  We  cannot  have  an  analysis  of  each 
lot  of  food  purchased  (even  if  desirable)  and  different  samples  will 
vary  widely  in  make-up,  so  we  are  obliged  to  depend  upon  the  average 
chemical  composition  of  the  foodstuffs  used.  A  glance  over  the 
analysis  tables  of  U.  S.  Government  reports  will  show  that  even  the 
grains  vary  considerably  with  the  different  samples  of  the  same  grain 
examined.  For  practical  feeding  purposes  it  is  safe  to  accept  the 
whole  grains,  when  sound,  at  the  average  nutritive  value  set  for 
them.  With  ground  grains  and  meat  foods  and  commercial  mixtures 
age  and  storage  may  shrink  their  value  considerably,  and,  when 
trouble  appears  in  a  flock  from  unaccountable  causes,  it  will  be  well 


2^  HOW  TO  RAISE  CHICKS 

to  look  carefully  into  the  composition  of  these  manufactured  food- 
stuffs and  see  if  therein  can  be  found  a  cause  for  trouble. 

Chemical  anr  lysis  of  a  food  is  never  an  index  of  its  digestibility 
or  palatability.  Two  similar  foods  might  show  the  same  chemical 
analysis  and  one  be  good  food  and  the  other  positively  unwholesome. 
Palatability  is  essential  to  digestibility.  Don't  give  too  much  impor- 
tance to  mere  chemical  analysis  of  foodstuffs.  There  are  other  things 
much  more  important. 

Variety  of  Wholesome,  Palatable  Food  Is  Necessary. — The  man 
who  spends  much  of  his  time  figuring  out  a  pseudo-scientifically, 
chemically  balanced  ration  and  wearies  his  brain  with  "nutritive 
ratios,"  potential  energies,  etc.,  will  not,  in  nine  cases  out  of  ten, 
be  anything  like  as  successful  as  the  man  who  studies  his  fowls 
and  feeds  them  according  to  their  appetites  on  a  variety  of  good 
honest  plain  wholesome  food. 

It  is  essential  that  food  shall  be  pure,  palatable  and  digestible. 
A  food  may  show  by  analysis  an  "ideal"  chemical  composition  and 
yet  be  neither  palatable  or  digestible.  Depend  upon  it  that  food 
that  is  not  consumed  with  a  relish  will  not  yield  you  as  good  results 
as  food  that  is  sufficiently  palatable  and  appetizing  to  make  your 
fowls  eager  for  it.  So  far  as  the  daily  balance  of  the  ration  is  con- 
cerned, it  is  safer  to  leave  that  to  the  instinct  of  the  fowl  than  to 
man's  invention,  particularly  when  the  mixture  is  compounded  chiefly 
for  commercial  purposes.  The  fowl's  appetite  is  not  an  infallible 
guide,  but  if  the  fowl  be  given  a  fair  chance  to  select  its  own  food  it 
can  be  depended  upon  to  do  fully  as  well  or  better  than  it  would 
when  provided  with  an  elaborate  "scientifically  compounded"  mix- 
ture. There  has  been  a  mighty  abuse  of  the  name  "science"  as  ap- 
plied to  foods  and  poultry  feeding. 

Balanced  Ration  Is  Desirable. — The  foregoing  does  not  mean  that 
we  should  pay  no  attention  to  balancing  a  ration  so  that  the  protein 
and  other  food  elements  will  bear  a  reasonable  proportion  to  one 
another.  The  protein  or  nitrogenous  food  elements  are  more  costly 
than  non-nitrogenous  elements  and  for  economy's  sake  we  do  not 
want  to  feed  an  excess  of  high  cost  food  when  cheaper  food  values 
w^ill  answer  our  purpose  just  as  well  and  perhaps  give  us  better 
health  in  the  flock.  It  should  also  be  remembered  that  the  waste 
from  highly  nitrogenous  food  is  by  far  the  most  difficult  to  get  rid 
of  and  the  most  dangerous  to  the  health  of  the  individual  if  not 
properly  voided. 

Foods  may  be  balanced  according  to  the  object  of  feeding  whether 
for  breeding  stock,  laying  or  market  meat  and  fat.  As  a  rule  a  narrow 
or  medium  ration  should  be  fed  to  layers,  for  breeders  a  medium 


HOW  TO  RAISE  CHI  ZKS  29 

ration  with  an  abundance  of  green  food  to  supply  as  nearly  as  pos- 
sible food  conditions  nature  provides  for  the  breeding  season,  while 
for  fattening  and  for  heat  production  in  cold  weather  a  rather  wide 
ration  will  serve  best. 

A  ration  containing  proportionally  one  part  of  nitrogenous  mat- 
ter to  three  of  non-nitrogenous  matter  would  be  considered  a  narrow 
ration  and  would  be  spoken  of  as  having  a  nutritive  ratio  of  1:3. 
1:4  is  narrow  enough  for  practical  purposes.  One  having  a  ratio  of 
1:5  or  1:6  would  be  a  medium  ration  and  a  wide  ration  1:9  or  there- 
about. 

So  far  as  balancing  rations  goes  there  has  been  a  great  deal  of 
nonsense  connected  with  it.  Rations  which  vary  widely  in  the  nutri- 
tive ratio  are  giving  equally  good  results  in  the  hands  of  different 
poultry  keepers.  It  is  undoubtedly  wise  to  roughly  balance  a  ration 
by  offsetting  a  heavy  supply  of  carbonaceous  food  with  some  nitrogen- 
ous matter  or  vice  versa.  It  is  not  necessary  to  provide  elaborate 
mashes  with  a  multitude  of  ingredients. 

So  far  as  possible  it  is  undoubtedly  the  safest  plan  to  observe  the 
flock  carefully,  note  the  work  done,  and  try  to  feed  according  to 
what  seems  to  be  the  immediate  need.  Let  appetite  and  inclination 
of  the  flock  as  a  whole,  combined  with  the  work  it  is  doing  and  the 
object  you  have  in  view  be  the  guide  to  the  make-up  of  and  for  any 
changes  in  the  ration.  The  nutritive  ratio  may  fluctuate  from 
narrow  to  wide  and  the  results  be  excellent.  It  isn't  necessary  to  sit 
down  and  figure  out  the  chemical  values.  You  simply  need  to  know 
that  such  foods  are  rich  in  nitrogenous  matter  or  tissue  and  egg 
building  material  and  what  others  are  rich  in  non-nitrogenous  matter 
or  heat  and  fat  producing  elements  and  to  strike  a  rough  balance 
according  to  the  needs  of  the  flock  and  the  requirements  of  the  season 
and  the  results  you  wish  to  obtain.  If  you  will  observe  your  flocks 
carefully,  take  note  of  what  you  feed  and  its  effect,  you  should  have 
no  difficulty  in  learning  what  foods  and  what  proportions  are  best 
suited  to  your  needs. 

Whatever  you  do  give  the  birds  a  variety  of  good  sound  whole- 
some food. 

A  chemically  balanced  ration  simply  means  that  there  is  main- 
tained a  certain  relative  proportion  between  the  nitrogenous  and  non- 
nitrogenous  constituents  of  the  food  fed.  The  precise  proportion 
that  is  most  desirable  has  never  been  positively  fixed  and  different 
writers  have  placed  the  ratio  as  narrow  as  1:3  and  as  wide  as  1:9, 
each  claiming,  and  without  doubt  having  good  reason  for  his  claim, 
that  the  results  from  his  ration  were  excellent.     Recent  observers 


30  HOW  TO  RAISE  CHICKS 

have  apparently  "split  the  difference"  and  the  range  of  the  ratio  has 
been  presented  as  1:4  and  1:6. 

I  do  not  consider  that  it  is  at  all  essential  for  the  every-day 
poultryman  to  bother  himself  with  the  theory  of  food  chemistry  or 
with  the  details  of  chemically  balancing  rations.  There  are  plenty 
of  good  practical  rations  from  which  he  can  make  his  selection  and 
all  of  them  are  sufficiently  well  balanced  chemically  for  all  practical 
purposes — so  why  worry  over  non-essential  detail  which  requires 
special  training  and  study  for  even  an  understanding  of  the  first 
principles? 

If  we  feed  a  good  variety  of  wholesome  food  and  enough  of  it, 
using  the  common  grains,  greens,  animal  food  and  mineral  foods 
recommended  in  the  majority  of  practical  rations,  in  every-day  use 
by  practical  successful  poultrymen,  we  will  have  a  fairly  well  propor- 
tioned balanced  ration.  Such  a  well  balanced  ration  will  contain 
a  sufficient  variety  of  grains,  some  roughage  (green  food),  animal 
food  (beef  scrap,  meat  meal  or  milk  in  some  form)  and  in  addition  to 
that  contained  in  the  foregoing,  mineral  food  will  be  supplied  in 
form  of  grit,  crushed  oyster  shells  and  granulated  dry  bone;  a  surplus 
of  all  food  elements  necessary  to  maintain  and  build  up  the  body  and 
to  secure  in  addition  the  results  in  eggs  and  meat  that  are  desired. 

Obviously  such  a  ration  must  contain  sufficient  variety  and 
enough  elasticity  to  meet  the  requirements  and  individual  needs  of 
all  members  of  the  flock.  We  cannot  set  a  separate  table  for  each 
individual  and  will  have  to  afford  our  fowls  the  opportunity  to  do  a 
little  balancing  on  their  own  account.  We  will  have  to  observe  the 
fowls,  note  their  appetites  and  preferences  and  vary  our  ration  a 
little  from  time  to  time  in  the  endeavor  to  supply  the  fowls  with  what 
they  crave  most — for  in  most  cases  what  they  crave  they  need.  This 
general  rule  will  not  hold  in  the  exact  letter  to  abnormal  cravings 
and  perverted  appetites  due  to  illness  ,neglect  or  bad  management, 
but  we  must  bear  in  mind  that  an  abnormal  craving,  or  the  feeding 
on  feathers,  eggs,  sticks,  filth,  etc.,  in  a  fowl  that  appears  otherwise 
healthy  is  an  indication  that  she  needs  and  craves  something  that 
we  have  failed  to  suply  her  with.  Dig  up  your  powers  of  observation 
and  your  common  sense  and  use  them  to  locate  the  trouble  and  rem- 
edy it.  The  simplest  method  of  narrowing  or  widening  a  ration  is 
to  add  to  it  or  take  from  it  a  quantity  of  animal  food  (meat,  scrap, 
or  milk).  Heavy  feeding  on  grains  and  meats  calls  for  an  abundant 
supply  of  greens  (fresh  if  obtainable)  to  keep  the  fowl  in  good  con- 
dition. This  last  applies  in  all  cases  except  the  last  two  or  three 
weeks  of  fattening  for  market. 

Live  Food   Is  Needed.— In  addition  to  the  food  elements  I  have 


HOW  TO  RAISE  CHICKS  31 

mentioned  herein  and  in  Chapter  II.,  there  are  other  things  neces- 
sary to  the  proper  feeding  of  fowl.  Of  course  it  is  understood  that  the 
fowl  must  have  good  care  and  be  kept  well  housed  under  sanitary- 
conditions.  It  must  have  plenty  of  fresh  air  day  and  night  to  supply 
free  oxygen  necessary  to  life  and  which  when  inhaled  and  taken  up 
by  the  blood  in  the  lungs  goes  to  the  tissues  to  assist  in  the  chemical 
changes  that  occur  there.  It  must  have  sunlight,  which  is  almost  as 
important  as  fresh  air.  It  must  have  exercise  to  insure  a  healthful 
condition  of  the  body  and  to  aid  in  the  proper  disposition  of  its  food. 

There  is  also  something  contained  in  the  live  cells  of  fresh  green 
stuff  that  possesses  health-giving,  disease-preventing  properties.  We 
do  not  know  what  that  something  is,  but  we  know  that  it  is  there 
and  that  it  is  necessary;  it  is  spoken  of  as  the  "antiscorbutic  prin- 
ciple." In  a  measure  it  is  found  in  live  uncooked  foods  of  all  veg- 
etable sorts,  but  it  is  most  abundant  in  fresh  succulent  green  foods. 

Cooking  of  food  destroys  the  live  cells  and  does  not  add  anything 
to  the  food  except  bulk,  renders  the  starch  more  easily  digestible 
and  sometimes  makes  the  food  more  palatable.  Cooked  food  is  chiefly 
of  service  in  adding  variety  to  the  ration  and  in  the  case  of  damaged 
foods,  and  particularly  meats,  cooking  will  destroy  undesirable  germs. 
An  allowance  of  cooked  food  two  or  three  times  a  week  will  afford  a 
desirable  variety,  will  stimulate  the  appetites  of  the  fowls  and  may  be 
considered  a  help  toward  better  results.  Do  not  feed  fowls  or  chicks 
on  an  exclusively  cooked  diet  if  you  wish  to  keep  them  well  and 
strong.    Cooked  grains  should  be  fed  sparingly  and  not  too  frequently. 

Digestion  of  Food — iVIaintaining  Body  Temperature.  —  The  true 
digestion  of  the  food  does  not  take  place  in  the  crop,  stomach,  gizzard 
and  intestines  alone.  It  takes  place  all  over  the  body,  in  the  tissues. 
Suppose  the  bird  to  have  been  fasting.  Food  is  taken  into  the  crop, 
and  the  activity  of  that  organ  in  supplying  fluids  to  soften  the  food  at 
once  starts  heat  generation.  The  muscular  contractions  in  forcing  the 
food  onward  also  make  heat.  Heat  production  increases  rapidly  as 
the  work  of  digestion  progresses.  After  the  food  is  mixed  with  and 
softened  by  the  secretions  of  crop  and  stomach  (proventriculus),  dis- 
solved, mixed  and  reduced  to  a  paste  in  the  gizzard  and  combined 
in  the  intestines  with  juices  from  the  liver  and  pancreas,  it  is  taken 
up  by  the  circulation  and  carried  all  over  the  body  to  meet  the  de- 
mands of  the  tissues.  The  living  cells  select  what  they  require  and 
make  it  over  to  suit  their  special  purposes.  In  the  chemical  transfor- 
mation which  takes  place  the  energy  contained  in  the  food  is  further 
converted  into  work  tissue  repair  or  building,  and  heat.  Unavailable 
matter,  waste  from  the  manufacturing  or  building  up  and  breaking 
down  processes  going  on  in  the  tissues,  is  returned  to  the  circulation 


32  HOW  TO  RAISE  CHICKS 

and  carried  back  to  be  mixed  with  refuse  in  the  intestines  and  is 
voided  as  droppings.  The  maximum  of  heat  production,  which  began 
with  taking  food  into  the  crop,  occurs  some  six  or  eight  hours  after 
the  meal.  The  activity  of  the  organs  of  the  body,  muscular  activity, 
building  up  and  breaking  down  of  the  tissues,  all  contribute  their 
share  to  heat  production. 

How  is  the  normal  body  temperature  maintained  with  all  this 
production  of  heat?  Heat  is  lost  to  the  body  in  a  variety  of  ways. 
Some  is  carried  off  in  the  exhaled  breath,  more  is  voided  with  the 
droppings,  and  some  is  disposed  of  by  radiation  from  the  surface  of 
the  body.  Too  rapid  loss  of  heat  is  provided  against  by  insulation 
of  the  body  with  fat  and  by  clothing  in  the  form  of  feathers.  Through- 
out the  life  of  a  healthy  fowl  this  heat  expenditure  is  under  the  con- 
trol of  a  delicate  system  of  regulation,  a  part  of  the  nervous  system. 
These  heat  regulator  nerves  control  the  rapidity  with  which  heat  is 
expended  and  have  the  power  to  excite  heat  production  and  so  main- 
tain the  body  temperature  at  the  proper  degree.  Whether  the  heat 
production  within  the  body  be  rapid  or  slow,  in  health  the  body  tem- 
perature remains  about  the  same  all  the  time  and  under  the  control 
of  the  regulating  system.  While  this  covers  the  subject  only  roughly 
and  without  scientific  detail  it  probably  goes  into  the  subject  as  deeply 
as  the  poultryman  will  find  time  and  patience  to  consider,  but  this 
brief  outline  of  "boiled  down  physiology"  should  prove  an  aid  to  a 
better  understanding  of  fowls,  foods  and  feeding. 

Exercise. — Exercise  is  of  vital  importance  to  the  health  of  the 
fowl  and  to  proper  assimilation  of  food.  Breeding,  laying  or  growing 
stock  must  have  plenty  of  exercise  to  do  well  and  to  assist  them  in 
using  their  food  to  the  best  advantage  through  the  proper  channels. 
Without  exercise,  food,  which  under  normal  conditions  should  be 
burned  as  fuel,  used  in  the  repair  of  tissues  or  making  eggs,  will  be 
diverted  into  forming  additional  flesh  or  fat.  Keep  the  birds  busy  by 
feeding  a  portion  of  their  hard  grain  food  where  they  will  have  to 
scratch  for  it.  The  busy  active  hen,  that  scratches  for  a  living  and  is 
frequently  seen  tail  deep  in  the  litter  with  the  dust  flying  behind  her 
and  that  sings  as  she  works  is  usually  the  hen  that  produces  the 
strong   germed,   fertile   eggs   that  hatch   well. 

With  healthy  hens  it  is  seldom  necessary  to  force  exercise.  Given 
the  place  and  opportunity  they  will  generally  take  sufficient  exercise 
without  much  urging.  Exercise  is  a  good  thing,  it  is  necessary,  but  it 
is  possible  to  have  too  much  even  of  a  good  thing.  The  overtrained 
athlete  or  the  man  who  takes  "physical  torture"  exercises  is  seldom 
the  equal  in  health,  endurance,  and  disease  resisting  power  of  the 
man  who  exercises  normally  and  naturally.    The  same  applies  to  your 


HOW  TO  RAISE  CHICKS  33 

fowls.  Let  them  scratch  for  a  PART  of  their  grain  but  do  not  make 
them  work  for  ALL  of  their  food.  You  do  not  want  to  burn  up  a  con- 
siderable part  of  the  food  you  feed  in  unnecessary  excessive  exercise; 
that  isn't  economy  in  feeding.  Neither  should  you  get  your  fowls 
out  of  condition  by  failing  to  give  them  an  opportunity  to  scratch 
and  run  about  a  sufficient  amount  to  keep  their  digestion  in  good 
order.     Try  to  strike  the  happy  mean  between  extremes. 

Give  the  Fowl  a  Chance. — The  fowl  will  balance  its  own  ration 
if  it  has  a  chance.  Do  yours  get  a  chance  or  are  they  confined  in 
cramped  quarters  with  bare  hard  runs  and  obliged  to  live  on  what- 
ever you  throw  out  to  them?    Give  them  a  chance.     Supply  a  variety. 

If  permitted  to  range  and  find  its  own  food  the  fowl  will  live 
chiefly  on  grains  and  seeds,  an  abundance  of  green  food  when  avail- 
able, quantities  of  worms  and  bugs,  some  grit  and  pieces  of  shell 
and  drink  freely  of  water.  The  ration  will  have  a  wide  variation 
according  to  the  success  of  her  foraging  and  it  will  be  largely  such 
food  as  nature  provides  in  season.  Yet,  if  the  fowl  has  the  range  of  a 
good-sized  farm,  gets  a  good  feed  of  corn  on  the  ear  before  roosting 
time  and  has  good  sleeping  quarters,  the  results  are  generally  good. 

Poultry  farmers,  who  make  their  living  from  the  fowls,  often  let 
the  fowls  balance  their  own  rations,  simply  keeping  boxes  of  wheat, 
corn,  oats  and  meat  scrap  before  them  and  supplying  plenty  of  cab- 
bage, roots  or  greens  in  season.  These  fowls  often  do  quite  as  well  as 
flocks  that  have  more  elaborate  rations.  The  presiding  life  principle 
within  the  fowl,  which  dominates  its  nervous  system  and  impels  it  to 
do  certain  things,  is  responsible  for  the  success  of  the  fowl  left  to 
its  own  inclinations.  Where  things  do  not  go  as  they  should,  some 
morbid  condition  has  interfered  with  the  normal  conduct  of  the  living 
organism.  There  is  nothing  to  be  gained  by  attempting  to  treat  the 
fowl  as  if  it  were  a  machine  into  which  a  definite  amount  and  quality 
of  fuel  can  be  fed  resulting  in  a  given  amount  of  work.  Nature  does 
not  work  that  way. 

If  under  ordinary  normal  conditions  where  the  fowl  has  liberal 
range  and  an  opportunity  to  balance  its  own  ration  it  gives  satis- 
factory results,  why  not  endeavor  to  achieve  similar  results  by  giving 
the  fowl  a  chance  to  balance  its  own  ration  when  confined  in  a  pen 
or  yard?  There  is  a  wide  difference  of  opinions  on  the  subject  of 
poultry  feeding  just  as  there  is  in  the  matter  of  diet  for  human  beings. 
It  is  seldom  that  you  will  get  together  a  body  of  "experts"  who  will 
agree  on  either  subject.  The  reason  is  not  far  to  seek  for  the  diet 
must  vary  with  the  needs  of  the  individual  or  the  particular  group 
of  individuals,  and  at  times  will  vary  with  the  particular  object  we 
have  in  view.    The  saying  that  "what  is  one  man's  meat  is  another's 


34 


HOW  TO  RAISE  CHICKS 


bane"  may  be  trite  but  it  is  none  the  less  true.  To  a  certain  extent 
this  saying  will  also  apply  in  poultry  feeding,  and  when  experts  dis- 
agree we  must  seek  our  own  salvation  with  our  own  observation  and 
common  sense.  Study  the  fowls,  keep  them  comfortable,  well  fed  and 
contented.  If  they  are  not  content,  they  are  not  well  fed  and  cared 
for,  and  if  they  are  not  content,  well  fed  and  well  cared  for  they  will 
not  be  comfortable. 


Sea  beach  free  range  for  sturdy  breeding  stock  on  a  Rhode  Island  prac- 
tical poultry  plant.  These  hardy,  healthy  birds  produce  an  abundance  of 
good,  hatchable  eggs.  (Photo  by  Dr.  Woods.  Mrs.  Woods  is  at  right  of 
house,  driving  the  fowls  up  from  the  rocky  beach.) 


CHAPTER  IV. 

Care  and  Management  of  Breeders 


^HE  IMPORTANCE  of  breeding,  feeding  and  man- 
aging fowls  first  and  always  for  HEALTH — for 
sound  constitutional  vigor — and  after  giving  first 
place  to  health  breeding  for  such  other  qualities 
as  may  be  desired,  has  been  emphasized  in  the 
preceding  chapters.  So  many  poultry  keepers  fail 
to  observe  even  ordinary  precautions  for  making 
sound  constitutional  vigor  a  foundation  charac- 
teristic in  their  strains  or  flocks  that  I  repeat 
here:  Whatever  else  you  do,  BREED  FOR 
HEALTH,  house,  feed  and  manage  for  health  and 
comfort. 

Like  begets  like  in  health  quite  as  much  as  it 
does  in  type  or  plumage.  The  only  safe  Avay  to  build  a  foundation  for 
the  prevention  of  disease  in  young  chicks  and  in  all  of  your  flock  for 
all  time,  is  to  breed  only  from  strong,  vigorous,  perfectly-formed,  full- 
grown,  healthy  specimens,  birds  that  possess  vitality  and  lots  of  it. 

Handle  every  bird  and  discard  every  specimen  that  shows  any 
deformity.  Pick  out  good-sized,  full-grown,  active,  alert  males  and 
females.  Never  breed  very  young  or  very  old  birds.  Immature  pullets 
and  cockerels,  or,  as  a  rule,  birds  under  twelve  months  old,  cannot  be 
depended  upon  to  give  satisfactory  results  in  breeding.  Fowls  that  are 
three,  four  and  five  years  old,  are  very  liable  to  quickly  get  out  of 
breeding  condition.  They  may  be  overfat  internally  or  diseased  in 
some  other  way.  When  you  must  use  an  old  bird  for  breeding,  be 
sure  that  it  is  in  good,  sound,  vigorous  condition  and  that  the  specimen 
is  one  that  has  never  been  at  any  time  seriously  sick.  These  details 
are  all  of  the  greatest  importance,  for  without  sound,  healthy,  vigorous 
foundation  stock  you  cannot  get  vitality  into  the  succeeding  genera- 
tions. 

You  cannot  use  too  great  care  in  the  selection  of  your  breeding 
birds.  Remember  that  the  losses  in  little  chicks  are  due  chiefly  to  a 
lack  of  vitality.  Unless  your  breeding  stock  possess  an  abundance  of 
vitality  they  cannot  be  expected  to  impart  vitality,  or  the  power  to 
live,  to  their  offspring.     Breed  fine  feathers  if  you  will,  but  don't  let 

35 


Z6 


HOW  TO  RAISE  CHICKS 


your  fondness  for  beautiful  plumage  lead  you  so  far  astray  that  you 
are  blind  to  all  else.  On  several  occasions  I  have  purchased  breeding 
birds  of  -^vell  known  established  and  reliable  fanciers,  one  of  whom  at 
least  was  and  is  considered  an  authority  on  poultry  diseases,  yet  I 
have  had,  when  buying  birds  from  these  parties,  frequent  cause  to 
complain  because  the  specimens  sent  me,  while  excellent  in  plumage, 
were  sadly  lacking  in  physical  development.  Once  I  purchased  a  breed- 
ing male  which  was  described  to  me  as  a  husky,  healthy  specimen  and 
"boss  of  the  yard."  When  the  bird  arrived  he  had  a  slightly  WTy  tail, 
a  slightly  deformed  back,  and  a  decidedly  crooked  breast.  Two  females 
purchased  from  a  breeder  in  whom  I  had  great  confidence  were  beauti- 


Corn  stover  piled  against  a  wire  fence  makes  an  ideal  wind  break  for 
an  outdoor  scratching  place  for  breeding  stock.  The  White  Plymouth  Rocks 
in  the  illustration  enjoyed  the  south  side  of  this  stover  stack  every  fair  day 
all  winter  long  and  they  gave  a  good  yield  of  eggs  that  hatched  well  and 
produced  strong  healthy  chicks.     (Photo  by  Dr.  Woods.) 

ful  specimens  to  look  at  when  viewed  on  the  ground.  Handling  them 
showed  decidedly  crooked  breast  bones,  a  deformed  shoulder  and  de- 
formed back.  Although  I  had  paid  a  fair  price  for  these  birds,  I  would 
not  breed  them.     By  breeding  deformed  specimens  you  invite  trouble. 

Housing. — When  you  have  selected  sound,  healthy  breeding  stock, 
keep  them  healthy  by  good  housing,  good  food,  good  care  and  good 
management — in  one  w^ord,  COMFORT. 

Comfort  is  the  keynote  to  keeping  fowls  healthy,  happy  and  con- 


HOW  TO  RAISE  CHICKS  37 

tented.  If  ill  housed,  ill  fed  and  ill  cared  for  they  won't  be  comfortable. 
In  my  book  "Open-Air  Poultry  Houses"  I  have  described  the  open-front 
buildings,  which  I  believe  are  best  and  most  comfortable  for  poultry. 
For  breeding  stock  I  believe  that  the  colony  type,  open-front,  open-air 
poultry  house  is  the  best  house  to  use.  Such  houses  may  be  single 
walled  and  built  of  matched  boards,  may  be  covered  with  waterproofed 
building  fabric,  or,  as  I  much  prefer  them,  shingled  on  roof  and  three 
sides,  but  the  fronts  should  be  open  and  covered  only  with  fine  mesh 
wire  netting.  As  a  dependable  all  the  year  'round  house  for  climates 
where  the  winters  are  cold,  a  good  open-front  house  with  suflEicient 
depth  in  proportion  to  the  open  front  is  undoubtedly  the  most  satis- 
factory. Colony  houses  are  to  be  preferred  to  long  continuous  houses, 
as  it  is  easier  to  provide  for  abundant  range  with  colony  buildings  and 
there  is  less  danger  from  disease  where  there  is  one  flock  instead  of 
many  under  one  roof. 

If  you  have  no  buildings  of  the  open  front  or  fresh-air  type,  try  the 
next  best  thing  and  convert  your  closed  poultry  house  into  a  semi- 
fresh-air  apartment  by  substituting  for  the  upper  halves  of  the  win- 
dows in  the  south  front  of  your  buildings  a  screen  of  unbleached  mus- 
lin loosely  tacked  on  a  wooden  frame.  Air  out  such  buildings  daily  in 
cold  weather  by  opening  the  windows.  In  summer  take  the  windows 
out  and  leave  them  out.  Remember  that  to  keep  birds  healthy  you  must 
let  them  have  fresh  air  to  breathe  both  clay  and  night.  The  fresh  air  is 
of  even  greater  importance  after  the  birds  have  gone  to  roost  than  it 
is  during  the  daytime  when  they  have  an  opportunity  to  run  in  and  out 
of  doors.  I  have  been  using  open-front  or  "fresh-air"  poultry  buildings 
for  a  number  of  years.  The  results  are  so  satisfactory  that  I  am  build- 
ing more  of  them,  and  I  do  not  want  any  other  kind  of  house  for  breed- 
ing fowls  or  for  layers.  In  the  fresh-air  buildings  fowls  are  easily  kept 
in  health  and  are  not  susceptible  to  sudden  weather  changes.  Breeders 
can  run  out  of  doors  at  all  seasons  of  the  year;  in  the  winter  time 
they  can  run  on  ice,  snow  and  frozen  ground,  scratch  around  stacks  of 
fodder  out  of  doors,  and  they  seem  to  take  delight  in  so  doing. 

Range  and  Yards. — Breeding  fowls  do  best  on  free  range,  or  at 
least  wide  range  with  abundant  grass  land  and  shade.  If  free  range 
cannot  be  had,  then  give  the  breeders  all  the  yard  or  park  room  you 
can.  You  may  and  probably  will  get  more  eggs  from  birds  kept  in 
confinement,  but  what  you  want  is  quality  in  the  eggs,  not  quantity  of 
eggs,  and  you  will  get  better  chicks  in  the  long  run  from  fowls  that 
have  ample  range.  If  the  range  is  unrestricted,  so  much  the  better. 
Scratching  litter  may  be  provided  in  the  houses  if  you  must  do  so, 
but  in  many  localities  litter  in  the  house  invites  dampness,  and  damp- 
ness may  result  in  mustiness,  mold  and  disease.    Where  the  birds  can 


38  now  TO  RAISE  CHICKS 

iave  outdoor  range  in  winter,  and  always  when  they  have  outdoor 
range,  you  will  find  that  a  straw  stack,  pile  of  corn  stover,  or  heap  of 
iny  good  litter,  placed  near  the  south  front  of  the  house,  or  ranged 
\long  wire  fencing  as  a  wind  break,  makes  an  admirable  outdoor 
scratching  place  at  all  seasons  and  will  help  to  keep  the  birds  in  bet- 
:er  condition  and  prove  an  aid  in  securing  more  hatchable  eggs. 

When  it  is  said  that  the  fowls  can  run  out  of  doors  at  all  seasons 
t  does  not  mean  that  you  are  to  compel  them  to  go  out  in  bad  weather 
:o  seek  food.  Provide  an  outdoor  scratching  place  and  then  give  the 
)irds  an  opportunity  to  go  out  of  doors  to  scratch  about  when  they 
vant  to.  See  that  they  have  ample  protection  from  chilling  winds.  It 
A^ill  not  do  your  birds  any  good  to  run  about  in  cold  winter  rains  or  to 
paddle  about  much  in  snow  and  ice  water.  They  will  be  better  off  in 
the  house  than  squatting  or  huddling  .in  some  place  out  of  doors 
exposed  to  chilling  winds  in  late  fall,  winter  and  early  spring.  Here, 
as  in  all  other  matters  concerning  the  management  of  the  flock,  the 
attendant  must  consider  the  comfort  of  the  fowls.  The  important  thing 
is  to  keep  the  birds  comfortable,  contented  and  happy. 

Foods  and  Feeding. — Feeding  the  breeding  birds  is  not  a  matter 
of  trying  to  get  the  most  eggs  the  flock  will  yield.  You  want  eggs  that 
will  hatch  well  and  that  will  produce  strong,  sturdy  chicks.  Number 
of  eggs  is  of  secondary  importance.  After  many  years  of  experience 
with  poultry  and  with  both  moist  and  dry  mashes  I  have  abandoned 
the  continuous  feeding  of  mashes  to  breeders.  As  an  aid  in  pro- 
moting egg  production  some  sort  of  well-made  mash  appears  essential 
to  getting  the  most  eggs  with  the  least  time  and  trouble.  For  breeding 
birds  the  mash  is  better  fed  as  a  supplementary  ration  and  supplied 
only  occasionally. 

Where  mashes,  either  moist  or  dry,  are  fed  daily  or  five  or  six 
times  a  week,  or  dry  mashes  are  kept  before  the  fowls,  there  is  always 
more  or  less  tendency  to  indigestion  and  bowel  trouble.  Dry  mash  ap- 
pears to  cause  less  trouble  than  moist  mash,  probably  because  it  is  not 
so  freely  eaten  and  gets  the  same  action  from  the  digestive  fluids  as 
does  other  dry  grain  food.  Mash  three  or  four  times  a  month  to  sup- 
plement a  hard  grain  ration  won't  do  any  harm  and  may  do  good.  If 
so  used  you  will  get  the  most  out  of  it  by  scalding  it  and  allowing  it 
to  cook  overnight  in  its  ovv^n  heat,  or  by  cooking  it  in  a  food  cooker. 
There  are  a  number  of  combinations  which  may  be  used,  and  the  fol- 
lowing is  excellent: 

Mash. 
Best  short  cut  alfalfa  hay,  or  fresh  cut  green 
rye,    shredded    corn   fodder,   or   fresh   cut 
green  clover 10  pounds 


Plow  TO  RAISE  CHICKS  39 

Wheat  toran 10  pounds 

Cornmeal 10  pounds 

Buffalo  gluten 10  pounds 

Wheat  middlings  (white) 10  pounds 

Best  fine  sweet  beef  scrap 5  pounds 

Best  commercial  fish  scrap 5  pounds 

Table  salt Vz  pound 

If  the  mash  is  to  be  fed  moist  scald  the  animal  food  and  dry  cut 
alfalfa  with  hot  water  to  which  the  salt  has  been  added  and  then  mix 
in  the  ground  feeds.  Feed  when  warm  but  not  hot.  Give  this  supple- 
mentary food  at  times  when  the  birds  seem  to  need  a  little  toning  up; 
give  what  they  will  clean  up  readily  in  from  fifteen  to  twenty  minutes. 
Some  months  I  feed  it  twice  or  three  times  a  week  and  some  months 
not  at  all.  The  time  of  feeding  may  be  any  time  that  is  convenient 
and  that  the  birds  seem  in  condition  for  it.  Moist  mash  is  fed  only  as 
a  supplementary  or  variety  food.     The  ration  should  be  mainly  dry. 

The  regular  ration  should  be  sound,  hard,  dry,  whole  or  cracked 
grains.  These  may  be  hand  fed,  hopper  fed,  or  fed  by  a  well-con- 
structed automatic  feeder.  I  am  disposed  to  favor  the  automatic  feeder 
as  a  labor  saver  and  because  it  feeds  any  quantity  you  wish  as  often 
as  the  birds  want  it  all  day  long. 

The  dry  grain  mixtures  may  vary  according  to  the  supply  availa- 
ble and  the  prevailing  prices  of  grain  in  your  locality.  Sound,  sweet 
grain  that  has  not  been  "heated"  and  that  is  free  from  mold  or  musti- 
ness  is  the  only  kind  that  is  fit  to  use.  There  is  no  economy  in  using 
damaged  or  "heated"  grains  just  because  the  price  is  low.  Such  are 
not  "cheap"  at  any  price. 

For  hopper  feeding,  if  you  can  have  a  hopper  with  several  com- 
partments it  is  a  good  plan  to  let  the  birds  balance  and  mix  their  own 
ration.  Simply  keep  corn,  cracked  corn,  wheat,  oats,  barley  and  beef 
scrap  in  separate  compartments  of  the  food  hopper  and  keep  each 
compartment  filled.  The  fowls  will  do  the  rest  and  they  will  balance 
the  ration  much  better  than  you  can.  There  are  objections  to  this 
plan  and  the  chief  one  is  that  in  some  localities  much  grain  will  be 
stolen  by  rats  and  mice.  Some  flocks  will  waste  some  of  the  grain, 
but  this  occurs  so  seldom  as  to  cause  but  little  trouble.  Under  this 
system  of  feeding,  unless  the  range  is  ample  and  the  weather  favorable 
to  ranging,  some  fowls,  particularly  old  hens,  are  liable  to  fill  up  at  the 
hopper  and  loaf  around  until  they  are  hungry  again.  This  does  not 
happen  with  many  individuals  or  with  all  flocks  and  is  most  common 
with  old  hens  that  had  always  been  used  to  the  hand-feeding  method. 

Hand  feeding  requires  two  regular  feedings  of  grain  a  day,  with 


40  HOW  TO  RAISE  CHICKS 

beef  scrap  fed  in  the  hopper  or  else  coarse  scrap  scattered  with  the 
grain  and  one  feeding  a  day  of  green  food. 

Automatic  feeders  require  the  use  of  grain  mixtures,  but  they  save 
labor,  prevent  waste  and  loss  and  keep  the  birds  busy  feeding  through- 
out the  greater  part  of  the  day.  Properly  built,  you  can  adjust  them  to 
feed  much  or  little,  as  desired.  I  like  such  a  feeder  large  enough  to 
take  a  bushel  of  grain  or  more.  The  fowls  are  watched  and  if  they 
show  preference  for  any  grain  they  get  more  of  it  in  the  mixture  next 
time,  or  if  they  slight  any  grain  they  get  less  of  it.  Here  are  four  good 
grain  mixtures  and  suggestions  for  use  of  same: 

Spring  and  Fall  Grain  Mixture. 

Best  cracked  corn 40  pounds 

Whole  corn 10  pounds 

Hard  red  or  amber  wheat 30  pounds 

Heavy  clipped  white  oats 10  pounds 

Best  full-meated  barley 10  pounds 

Coarse  sifted  beef  scrap 5  pounds 

Good  solid  white  wheat  may  be  substituted  for  the  red  wheat  or 
the  amber  wheat  if  the  price  favors  such  change.  Oats  should  be  the 
best  heavy  white  oats  running  from  38  to  42  pounds  to  the  bushel. 
Oats  that  run  less  than  34  pounds  to  the  bushel  are  too  light  in  weight. 
Barley  may  be  substituted  for  oats  or  oats  for  barley,  according  to  the 
prices  and  the  quality  of  each.  Feed  the  best  value  you  can  get  for 
your  money.  Barley  should  not  weigh  less  than  50  pounds  to  the 
bushel,  and  the  heavier  it  is,  if  the  grain  is  sound  and  dry,  the  better. 

Winter  Mixture. 

Whole  corn 30  pounds 

Best  cracked  corn 35  pounds 

Wheat   25  pounds 

Heavy  white  oats 10  pounds 

Coarse  sifted  beef  scrap 5  pounds 

Five  pounds  of  either  barley  or  buckwheat  may  be  substituted  for 
five  pounds  of  the  oats,  or  both  may  be  substituted  for  the  entire 
amount  of  oats,  according  to  market  prices  and  convenience. 
Summer   Mixture. 

Cracked  corn 30  pounds 

Wheat    40  pounds 

Heavy  white  oats 15  pounds 

Barley   15  pounds 

Coarse  sifted  beef  scrap 5  pounds 

Ten  pounds  of  kafRr  corn  may  be  substituted  for  five  pounds  each 
of  oats  and  barley  if  desired. 


HOW  TO  RAISE  CHICKS  41 

Variety  Grain  Mixture. 
Sometimes  I  feed  at  any  season  of  the  year,  for  the  sake  of  variety 
and  because  I  am  able  to  buy  same  cheaply,  a  variety  grain  mixture 
made  up  approximately  as  follows: 

Cracked  corn 40  pounds 

Whole  wheat 20  pounds 

Clean  wheat  screenings 20  pounds 

Kaffir  corn 8  pounds 

Heavy  white  oats 6  pounds 

Silverskin  buckwheat 4  pounds 

Russian  sunflower  seed 1  pound 

Golden  millet V2  pound 

Whole  flaxseed i^  pound 

Hemp  seed V4.  pound 

Coarse  sifted  beef  scrap 5  pounds 

This  variety  mixture  will  be  found  very  satisfactory  to  use  when 
the  birds  are  moulting. 

in  addition  to  the  grain  food  and  beef  scrap  you  should  keep  before 
your  fowls  at  all  times  clean  gravel  or  grit,  crushed  oyster  shells, 
poultry  charcoal,  granulated  bone  and  pure  drinking  water.  These  are 
all  essentials  and  should  not  be  neglected.  Only  good,  sweet,  sound 
grains  should  be  used  in  above  mixtures,  Moldly,  musty  or  dusty 
grain  should  never  be  fed,  as  it  is  liable  to  make  the  fowls  sick.  If  at 
any  time  it  should  come  to  a  choice  between  feeding  moldly  grain  or 
starving  the  fowls,  then  scald  the  grain  well,  stir  it  around  in  the  hot 
water  and  dry  it  out  in  a  hot  oven  before  you  feed  it.  This  is  a  lot  of 
work  but  it  will  save  a  lot  of  trouble. 

Animal  Food. — Worms,  bugs,  grasshoppers  and  other  insect  life 
are  the  best  animal  foods  for  breeding  stock,  but  it  is  very  seldom  that 
the  supply  is  sufficient  even  for  a  short  period  and  there  are  always 
times  when  none  are  to  be  had.  Commercial  beef  scrap  has  to  be  our 
main  reliance  for  all  seasons.  The  best  of  it  is  poor  enough,  and  much 
that  masquerades  under  the  name  of  beef  scrap  is  not  fit  to  feed. 

Good  beef  scrap  should  be  medium  coarse,  contain  some  particles 
of  bone  and  meat,  the  size  of  wheat  and  corn  as  well  as  the  meat  meal 
portion,  should  be  from  a  light  to  dark  coffee  color,  have  a  strong, 
sweet,  rich,  meaty  odor,  should  be  free  from  lumps  and  should  always 
feel  rather  dry  and  crumbly.  On  scalding  there  should  be  no  offensive 
odor.  Beef  scrap  that  stinks  like  fertilizer  when  scalded  is  not  fit  to 
feed.  Scrap  that  is  damp,  full  of  lumps  that  show  white  on  breaking 
down,  is  almost  certain  to  poison  your  fowls. 

Fish  scrap  is  a  rather  uncertain  product  and  contains  a  large  per- 
centage of  soluble  fish  bone.     It  is  a  by-product  of  some  fish-glue  fac- 


42  HOW  TO  RAISE  CHICKS 

tories  and  is  sold  for  poultry  feeding.  When  of  good  quality  it  makes 
a  good  animal  food  for  fowls  and  chicks  added  to  mashes  and  used  as 
a  substitute  for  a  part  of  the  beef  scrap.  Don't  feed  fish  scrap  from  a 
hopper. 

Fresh,  sweet  fish  (either  fresh-water  or  salt-water  fish)  is  one  of 
the  best  animal  foods  for  either  breeding  stock  or  growing  chicks.  Boil 
or  scald  the  fish  and  feed  it  plain  or  mixed  with  bran  and  meal  or  with 
mash  mixture  (beef  scrap  being  left  out  of  mash  when  fish  is  fed). 

Beef  scrap  should  be  fed  plain  from  a  hopper,  in  addition  to  that 
in  grain  mixtures,  and  should  be  kept  always  before  the  birds.  After 
the  first  greedy  feeding  they  are  not  likely  to  eat  too  much  of  it. 

Salt  fish  is  a  help  where  fowls  must  be  confined.  Simply  hang  up 
a  dry  salt  codfish  in  each  pen  and  let  them  pick  it  when  they  want  to. 
When  so  used  there  is  less  liability  of  bad  habits  like  egg  eating  and 
feather  pulling. 

Fresh  meat  either  cooked  or  raw  is  excellent  when  it  can  be  had 
cheaply  and  may  be  fed  by  hanging  up  in  pen,  or  run  through  a  meat 
cutter  and  fed  plain.  Fresh  plucks  cooked  and  then  hung  up  where  the 
fowls  must  reach  for  them  and  only  get  a  little  at  a  time  are  excellent 
and  to  be  preferred  to  commercial  scraps. 

Milk  is  excellent  for  fowls  of  all  ages.  Can  be  fed  either  sweet  or 
sour,  but  should  be  fed  either  always  sweet  or  always  sour.  See 
Chapter  VIII. 

Raw  Food  and  Green  Foods. — As  stated  in  Chapter  III,  some  live 
food  is  needed.  The  live  cells  of  fresh  raw  green  food  contain  an  anti- 
scorbutic principle  that  is  necessary  to  life  and  health.  Travelers  know 
how  raw  potatoes  will  prevent  and  cure  scurvy.  Live  raw  food  pre- 
vents disease  in  poultry  and  helps  keep  them  sound  and  vigorous.  Raw 
potatoes,  raw  cabbages,  beets,  mangels,  turnips,  waste  apples  and  car- 
rots are  all  available  and  are  necessary  to  keeping  breeding  birds  in 
good  condition. 

Sprouted  oats  are  excellent  food  for  breeding  stock  and  should  be 
fed  about  seven  days  after  they  are  first  put  into  the  sprouter  or  when 
the  sprouts  are  from  half  an  inch  to  an  inch  long.  Don't  let  them  get 
too  old  before  feeding  and  don't  feed  them  if  musty.  Keep  the  sprout- 
ing boxes  clean  and  sweet  by  scalding  and  sunning  after  each  lot  of 
oats  is  removed. 

Cut  clover  and  cut  alfalfa  is  good  when  the  supply  of  other 
vegetable  foods  runs  short,  but  it  is  not  a  substitute  for  raw  food.  It  is 
best  fed  in  a  mash  either  dry  or  moist,  but  it  may  be  fed  plain.  If  to 
be  fed  plain  first  scald  the  cut  hay  with  boiling  water  that  has  been 
lightly  seasoned  with  salt.  Feed  warm  but  not  hot.  Five  pounds  of 
dry  cut  clover  hay  are  ample  for  one  feed  for  100  fowls. 


43 


Raw  vegetables  should  be  run  through  a  cutter  and  fed  freely 
once  a  day  if  weather  is  very  cold.  If  weather  is  mild,  cut  the  raw 
vegetables  into  large  chunks  and  place  a  day's  supply  in  a  wooden 
rack  or  a  wire  netting  pocket  where  fowls  can  get  at  them  readily. 
Feed  plenty  of  raw  vegetable  food. 

Raw  onions  and  garlic,  chopped  fine  and  fed  plain  or  in  mash,  are 
excellent  and  are  particularly  desirable  if  fowls  have  slight  colds  or 
if  the  droppings  are  soft  and  yellowish  or  brownish.    Feed  freely. 

Mineral  Foods. — Fresh  green  food  and  grains  contain  some  min- 
eral food,  but  unless  the  fowls  are  on  very  large  range  with  unusual 
resources  there  may  be  deficiency  in  minerals  supplied  in  food.  Among 
the  minerals  necessary  to  the  growth,  maintenance  and  health  of  our 
poultry  are:  Chloride  of  sodium  (common  salt),  carbonate,  sulphate 
and  phosphate  of  lime  found  in  bone  and  oyster  shells,  silica  found  in 
sand  and  grits,  and  also  various  salts  of  potassium,  sodium,  iron,  am- 
monium, magnesium  and  manganese.  Some  of  the  necessary  mineral 
foods  will  be  found  in  grains  and  grasses,  some  in  earth,  sand,  bone, 
oyster  shells  and  grit  from  the  gravel  pit,  and  some  will  be  fed  in 
fish  and  beef  scrap.  A  box  of  hard  coal  ashes  will  help  out  the  supply 
of  mineral  food. 

Mineral  food  helps  in  the  digestion  and  assimilation  of  other  foods 
and  in  building,  repairing  and  maintaining  various  tissues  of  the  body, 
as  well  as  for  use  in  eggs  and  in  plumage. 

Where  fowls  are  kept  on  close  range  or  must  be  confined  in  very 
small  yards  the  following  tonic  powder  or  tissue  food  will  be  found  a 
valuable  source  of  necessary  mineral  food,  and  I  believe  that  its  use 
helps  to  secure  better  fertility,  better  hatchability  in  eggs  and  better 
growth  in  chicks: 

Kiln-dried  bone  meal 5  pounds 

Pulverized  oyster  shell 1  pound 

Potassium  sulphate 1  pound 

Table  salt 2  pounds 

Sodium  phosphate 4  ounces 

Sodium  acetate 4  ounces 

Sodium  sulphate  (Glaubers'  salts) 4  ounces 

Calcium  fluoride 1  ounce 

Magnesium  phosphate 10  ounces 

Ferric  trioxide 10  ounces 

Ammonium  sulphate 14  ounces 

Manganese  dioxide 14  ounce 

Silicic  acid i/^  ounce 

Use  the  commercial  salts  obtained  through  your  wholesale  drug- 
gist, or  have  a  manufacturing  chemist  put  up  the  powder  for  you. 


44  HOW  TO  RAISE  CHICKS 

Reduce  all  of  above  ingredients  to  a  powder  and  thoroughly  mix.  Add 
half  a  pound  to  100  pounds  of  dry  ground  grain  mash  mixture  for  adult 
birds.  Use  half  that  quantity  for  chickens  from  two  months  to  six 
months  old.  Where  this  is  used  scald  the  mash  and  feed  it  moist  and 
crumbly. 

Ordinarily  free  range  fowls  will  get  sufficient  mineral  food  if  sup- 
plied with  crushed  oyster  shells,  granulated  dry  raw  bone,  salt  in  the 
mash,  and  plenty  of  gravel  and  sand. 

Notes  on  Feeding. — I  do  not  claim  my  plan  of  feeding  is  superior 
to  others,  but  simply  that  it  gives  me  good  results  in  health,  vigor  and 
eggs,  besides  proving  labor  saving.  If  the  hoppers  are  built  of  suf- 
ficient size,  it  is  not  necessary  to  fill  them  up  oftener  than  once  a 
week.  The  fowls  should  be  watered  daily  and  houses  kept  clean.  Pure, 
clean,  fresh  water  in  reasonably  clean  pails  or  fountains  is  of  course 
essential  to  health. 

There  are  many  good  food  rations  or  methods  of  feeding  that  will 
give  equally  good  results  as  the  ones  here  recommended.  If  you  have 
a  plan  of  feeding  that  is  giving  you  satisfactory  returns  I  do  not  advise 
you  to  change.  If  for  any  reason  you  are  not  satisfied  with  your  pres- 
ent plan,  give  this  method  a  fair  trial  and  I  believe  you  will  be  pleased 
with  the  results  obtained.  Remember  that  it  takes  a  little  time  for  a 
flock  to  become  accustomed  to  a  different  method  of  feeding.  My  birds 
have  been  used  to  this  way  of  living  from  the  shell  up.  Fowls  that 
have  been  kept  on  scant  rations  and  regular  feedings  may  stuff  them- 
selves when  first  placed  on  a  hopper  system,  and  so  get  a  little  out  of 
order;  it  takes  a  few  months  to  get  them  straightened  out  and  used  to 
the  new  order  of  living. 

My  plan  of  feeding  is  best  suited  to  White  Plymouth  Rocks,  Wyan- 
dottes,  Rhode  Island  Reds,  Leghorns  and  the  lighter  breeds.  Barred 
Plymouth  Rocks,  Brahmas,  and  Cochins  while  they  often  do  well  on 
this  plan  of  feeding,  sometimes  require  different  treatment.  This  is 
because  they  are  peculiarly  susceptible  to  laying  on  internal  fat.  With 
such  fowls  a  combination  of  drj'  mash  hopper-fed  and  scratch  grain  fed 
in  litter  or  from  an  automatic  feeder  will  give  better  results. 

A  good  dry  mash  may  be  made  by  mixing  200  pounds  wheat  bran, 
100  pounds  cornmeal,  100  pounds  gluten,  100  pounds  middlings  and  100 
pounds  ground  oats;  add  i/^  pound  of  table  salt  to  each  100  pounds  of 
mash.  If  beef  scrap  is  not  fed  separately  100  pounds  of  pure,  sweet 
meat  meal  may  be  added.  Feed  from  hopper  and  use  one  of  the  whole 
grain  mixtures  in  litter  of  sand  or  clean  straw  twice  daily,  allowing  a 
scant  handful  per  bird  at  a  feeding. 

It  is  sometimes  a  good  plan  with  exclusively  hopper-fed  fowls  to 
give  an  occasional  full  feed  of  well-boiled  grain,  corn,  wheat  or  oats. 


HOW  TO  RAISE  CHICKS  45 

The  water  in  which  grain  is  boiled  should  be  lightly  seasoned  with 
salt. 

Don't  worry  about  the  fowls  getting  too  fat.  It  takes  a  fat  hen  to 
do  well,  and  fowls  accustomed  to  hopper  feeding  will  seldom  get  over- 
fat.  More  fowls  are  half  starved  by  underfeeding  and  working  for  all 
they  get  in  a  deep  litter  than  are  injured  or  rendered  overfat  by  hop- 
per feeding.  You  can't  get  good  hatchable  eggs  if  you  starve  the  hen 
or  make  her  work  off  all  her  energy  in  scratching  for  food. 

There  is  no  truth  in  the  statement,  made  by  some  writers,  that 
hopper  feeding  is  responsible  for  breeding  birds  getting  out  of  condi- 
tion, resulting  in  weak  germs  and  poor  fertility.  There  is  not  as  much 
danger  of  such  troubles  from  hopper  feeding  as  there  is  from  other 
methods.  Fowls  well  fed  on  wholesome  food,  where  the  management 
exercises  a  fair  amount  of  good,  plain,  common-sense,  can  be  depended 
upon  to  give  good  results  even  though  the  various  owners  use  widely 
different  methods  of  feeding. 

Hopper  feeding  as  herein  referred  to  applies  to  box  hoppers  or  to 
automatic  feeding  hoppers.  With  the  automatic  feeder  (or  feeding 
hopper)  there  is  less  liability  of  heavy  fowls  overfeeding  and  laying 
on  too  much  fat,  even  though  of  a  susceptible  variety,  as  these  feeders 
can  be  so  built  that  the  amount  of  food  fed  is  regulated  in  proportion 
to  the  exercise  the  fowl  takes. 

Exercise. — Even  with  open-box  hoppers,  where  fowls  are  brought 
up  on  and  are  accustomed  to  the  dry  food  plan  (with  occasional  moist 
mashes  for  variety  to  supplement  regular  ration),  there  is  never  any 
danger  of  their  gorging  themselves  and  becoming  fat  and  lazy.  Being 
always  used  to  having  food  before  them  at  all  times,  they  are  not  in 
the  habit  of  filling  up  quickly  or  making  hogs  of  themselves,  except 
in  rare  cases.  Such  birds  can  be  depended  upon  to  take  a  sufficient 
amount  of  exercise  daily  without  being  forced  to  do  so.  In  my  opinion 
exercising  birds  has  been  to  a  large  extent  overdone.  I  have  visited 
poultry  plants  where  the  runs  are  equipped  with  board  hurdles  to  make 
the  birds  jump  when  going  from  one  end  of  the  run  to  the  other, 
similar  hurdles  placed  in  the  houses  to  encourage  jumping,  vegetable 
food  hung  at  impossible  heights  so  that  the  fowls  are  obliged  to  jump 
with  stretched  necks  in  order  to  get  at  the  vegetable  food,  and  even 
exercising  machines  placed  in  some  of  the  pens.  This  is  going  to 
extremes. 

A  reasonable  amount  of  exercise  is  necessary  to  keep  fowls  in 
health.  Too  much  exercise  is  only  a  waste  of  food,  money  and  energy. 
Fowls  can  be  positively  injured  by  too  much  exercise,  and  jumping 
and  stretching  for  vegetable  and  meat  food  hung  just  out  of  reach  is 
liable  to  have  a  serious  effect  upon  the  egg  organs,  with  the  result  that 


46  HOAV  TO  RAISE  CHICKS 

you  get  soft-shelled  eggs  or  eggs  which  contain  blood  clots.  I  used  to 
be  an  enthusiastic  and  ardent  advocate  of  exercising  fowls.  I  have 
learned  better. 

Give  the  fowls  plenty  of  yard  room.  Allow  not  less  than  65  or  75 
square  feet  of  yard  room  per  bird.  Let  them  run  out  of  doors  at  all 
seasons  of  the  year.  If  you  do  this  and  clear  away  a  space  in  front 
of  the  pens  for  outdoor  exercise  when  the  ground  is  covered  with 
snow,  you  need  have  no  fear  of  your  birds  failing  to  take  sufficient 
exercise,  even  though  they  are  exclusively  hopper  fed.  Where  it  is 
possible  to  change  the  litter  often  and  to  use  the  litter  upon  a  clean 
floor,  or  to  use  clean  white  beach  sand  in  place  of  litter,  scattering 
scratch  grain  in  litter  is  a  satisfactory  way  of  encouraging  exercise, 
but  don't  make  the  birds  work  for  all  they  get.  That  is  a  big  mistake. 
Scratching  in  deep,  dirty  litter  results  in  filling  the  house  with  clouds 
of  dust  that  must  be  inhaled  by  the  birds.  This  dust  contains  dry 
pulverized  droppings,  mold  spores,  disease  germs  and  other  filth,  and 
is  unhealthy.  Fowls  can  inhale  a  sufficient  quantity  of  this  dust  to  get 
them  seriously  out  of  condition,  create  catarrhal  diseases,  and  impair 
vitality.  Remember  that  decreased  vitality  of  the  breeding  stock,  if 
you  use  the  eggs  for  hatching,  means  chicks  that  will  not  live  and 
thrive. 

Fowls  when  hopper  fed  will  be  busy  during  the  day  scratching 
about  the  pen  and  run,  dusting  themselves  in  some  convenient  nook 
and  ranging  about,  taking  a  sufficient  amount  of  exercise  for  their  needs. 
I  have  used  clean  white  sand  exclusively  on  the  floors  of  the  poultry 
houses  in  place  of  straw  litter  and  like  it  best.  Straw  is  too  apt  to  be 
moldy  and  musty  and  so  contain  dangerous  dust  and  disease  germs. 

The  laying  hen  is  frequently  compared  to  the  milch  cow,  although 
inaptly  so.  In  this  matter  of  exercise  ask  any  farmer  what  will  happen 
if  milch  cows  are  forced  to  exercise  freely  every  day,  and  he  will  tell 
you  that  it  will  result  in  a  falling  off  in  milk  yield.  Some  exercise  is 
necessary.  Too  much  is  almost  as  bad  as  none  at  all.  Don't  go  to 
extremes.  You  can  exercise  your  fowls  so  much  that  they  will  put 
nearly  all  the  energy  contained  in  their  food  into  building  up  and 
repairing  stringy,  tough  muscle  tissue  and  will  give  you  very  few  eggs. 
Athletes  attain  very  high  muscular  development,  but  they  do  not 
always  succeed  in  producing  healthy,  vigorous  children. 

In  caring  for  your  breeding  stock  bear  in  mind  that  comfort  for 
the  fowls  is  of  great  importance.  Keep  them  comfortable  and  they 
will  help  keep  you.  To  be  comfortable  the  fowls  must  have  com- 
fortable quarters  not  overcrowded,  they  must  be  well  cared  for  and 
well  fed,  they  must  be  kept  comfortably  clean  and  free  from  vermin. 


HOW  TO  RAISE  CHICKS  47 

Fussy,  scrupulous  cleanliness  is  not  necessary,  but  it  pays  to  keep 
things  neat,  in  good  order  and  reasonably  clean. 

Vermin. — Dust  the  fowls  two  or  three  times  a  year  with  good  fresh 
ground  Persian  pyrethrum  powder;  work  it  into  the  plumage  all  over 
the  bird  well  down  to  the  skin.  On  roosts  and  dropping  boards  use 
once  a  month  a  lice  killer  like  the  following:  Dissolve  in  kerosene  all 
it  will  take  up  of  crude  naphtalene  crystals,  mix  in  a  glass  jar  and  put 
In  a  little  more  naphtalene  than  will  dissolve.  Shake  before  using.  Ap- 
ply to  the  roosts  in  the  morning  so  that  it  will  dry  out  before  roosting 
time.  Also  spray  this  occasionally  about  poultry  house  in  sprayer 
throwing  a  fine  mist. 

A  "dust  bath"  is  a  good  thing  and  will  be  enjoyed  by  the  fowls,  but 
do  not  make  the  common  mistake  of  thinking  that  it  must  contain 
"dust."  The  "bath"  should  be  a  box  of  convenient  size  containing 
moist,  sandy  loam.  The  loam  may  be  mixed  with  fine  coal  ashes  if 
desired  or  it  may  be  simply  fine  sand  containing  a  little  tobacco  dust 
or  insect  powder.  The  loam  or  sand  should  always  be  a  little  bit  moist 
and  the  fowls  will  much  prefer  it  to  a  very  dry,  dusty  bath.  It  helps 
in  keeping  down  lice.  Fowls  affected  with  vermin  are  neither  happy 
nor  comfortable. 

It  pays  for  the  attendant  to  keep  in  close  touch  with  the  flocks, 
to  observe  them  well,  to  avoid  sudden  movements,  loud  speech  and 
chasing  the  fowls  about  in  the  pens.  Aim  to  keep  the  birds  tame  and 
used  to  gentle  handling.  It  is  no  credit  to  the  poultry  keeper  to 
have  a  lot  of  wild,  easily  frightened  birds  that  run  away  on  his  ap- 
proach. It  is  the  well  cared  for,  well  fed,  happy,  healthy,  contented 
breeding  birds,  managed  for  comfort,  that  yield  the  most  hatchable 
eggs. 

Diseases  and  Remedies. — If  the  flocks  are  properly  managed  and 
well  kept  there  won't  be  much  trouble  from  diseases  and  there  will  be 
little  need  for  remedies.  I  don't  believe  in  dosing  and  doctoring  fowls, 
especially  breeding  stock.  Sometimes,  though,  a  few  simple  remedies 
early  applied  ward  off  trouble  that  appears  through  carelessness  or 
from  unavoidable  causes. 

It  is  a  good  plan  to  keep  on  hand  an  ounce  or  two  of  camphorated 
vaseline,  a  small  quantity  of  permanganate  of  potassium  crystals,  a 
pint  or  more  of  creolin  or  some  good  commercial  substitute  for  same 
known  as  saponified  cresol,  fluid  cresol  soap,  or  liquor  cresolis  com- 
positus,  and  sold  under  a  great  variety  of  trade  names. 

Warm,  damp  weather  may  start  chickenpox.  If  so  bathe  parts  in 
soapy  warm  water,  remove  crusts  and  scabs,  and  after  drying  apply 
the  camphorated  vaseline. 

In  cases  of  frozen  comb  or  wattles,  rub  frozen  parts  with  cold 


48  HOW  TO  RAISE  CHICKS 

water,  snow  or  ice  until  soft  and  of  normal  feel  and  color,  then  thor- 
oughly rub  in  some  of  the  camphorated  vaseline. 

For  sudden  colds  and  sneezing  take  them  as  soon  as  noticed,  wash 
out  mouth  and  nostrils  with  warm  water  and  then  rub  camphorated 
vaseline  into  the  nostrils  and  into  the  cleft  in  the  roof  of  the  mouth. 

For  colds  that  do  not  respond  promptly  to  above  treatment,  mix 
one  teaspoonful  of  creolin  in  a  pint  of  soft  warm  water.  Mix  it  fresh 
as  needed.  Use  it  in  a  pail  or  can  like  a  tomato  can  and  dip  the  head 
of  the  affected  bird  in  the  solution;  repeat  daily  if  necessary. 

For  looseness  of  bowels,  green  droppings  or  yellowish-brown  drop- 
pings which  turn  green  on  exposure  to  the  air,  use  a  few  drops  of 
creolin  in  the  drinking  water,  just  enough  to  cloud  it  a  little  but  not 
to  turn  it  milky. 

For  canker  from  fighting  or  other  cause,  crush  permanganate  of 
potassium  crystals  to  fine  powder  in  proportion  of  about  one  grain 
to  an  ounce  of  powdered  sugar;  dust  this  on  canker  spots  after  remov- 
ing all  of  the  cheesy  mass  that  comes  away  easily  without  bleeding. 
It  may  be  blown  on  through  a  glass  tube  or  straw.  Use  daily  until 
surface  is  clean  and  begins  to  heal,  then  use  less  often. 

For  intestinal  parasites,  worms  or  germs,  a  good  home  remedy  is 
to  introduce  into  the  crop,  through  a  rubber  tube  attached  to  a  hard 
rubber  syringe,  a  mixture  of  two  teaspoonfuls  of  turpentine  and  two 
tablespoonfuls  of  sweet  oil.  Chopped  onions  and  garlic,  fed  raw,  is 
also  a  help.  Where  there  are  worms  noticed  disinfect  the  droppings 
with  a  solution  of  creolin  one  gill  in  two  gallons  of  soft  water. 


CHAPTER   V. 

EggsforHatching 

[N  CHOOSING  EGGS  for  hatching,  select  those  which 
are  medium  or  average  size  for  the  fowl  producing 
them.     As   a  rule,  very  large  or  very  small   eggs 
should  be  rejected.    When  a  hen  always  produces 
large  eggs  that  are  normal  they  can  safely  be  used. 
Abnormally  large  eggs  and  those  containing  more 
than  one  yolk  should  be  culled  out.     Eggs   with 
thin,    water-marked,    rough,    seamed    or    checked 
shells  should  not  be  saved  for  hatching.     Those 
having  limy  excrescences  on  the  shell  should  be 
discarded,  as  these  lime  warts  are  apt  to  break 
off  during  incubation  and  leave  a  hole  in  the  shell 
that  is  fatal  to  the  contained  embryo.    If  a  breeder 
should  send  you  ill  shaped,  poor,  thin-shelled  eggs  when  you  buy  for 
hatching,  instead  of  good,  clean,  normal  eggs,  enter  a  complaint  direct 
to  the  seller.     If  he  does  not  make  good,  don't  trade  there  a  second 
time.    When  you  buy  hatching  eggs  you  are  entitled  to  good,  normal, 
sound-shelled  eggs '  from  healthy  breeding  stock,  and  should  not  re- 
ceive cull  eggs. 

Sex  of  Eggs. — There  is  no  known  way  of  determining  the  sex  of 
the  chick  by  the  appearance  of  the  egg.  The  theory  of  foretelling  the 
sex  of  the  future  chicken  by  the  formation  of  the  egg  is  centuries  old. 
In  the  writings  of  Horace,  long  eggs  are  mentioned  as  certain  to  pro- 
duce males.  The  position  of  the  air  cell  has  also  been  supposed  to 
indicate  the  sex.  Several  well  known  writers  of  recent  years  have 
expressed  the  belief  that  long  eggs  or  those  having  wrinkled  ends 
would  produce  males  and  that  the  smooth,  round  ones  would  hatch 
pullets.  There  is  absolutely  no  foundation  for  this  belief,  as  may  be 
easily  ascertained  by  making  a  few  test  hatches. 

Several  English  writers,  and  more  than  one  American,  attribute 
the  control  of  sex  chiefly  to  the  condition  of  the  male  bird,  and  they 
apparently  base  their  theory  on  good  ground.  Briefly,  it  is  to  the 
effect  that  when  the  male  is  full  of  vigor  early  in  the  season  cockerels 
are  likely  to  predominate  in  the  chicks  from  his  pen.  Later  in  the 
season,  as  the  male's  strength  and  vigor    (sexually)    decreases,  the 

49 


50  HOW  TO  RAISE  CHICKS 

number  of  pullets  in  his  progeny  increases.  However,  when  the  male 
bird  apparently  remains  equally  healthy,  strong  and  vigorous  through- 
out the  entire  season,  it  is  a  common  thing  to  have  a  majority  of 
cockerels  early  in  the  season,  while  later  on  pullets  predominate. 

From  the  same  flock,  with  as  vigorous  males  as  could  be  obtained, 
the  writer  has  had  nearly  two-thirds  cockerels  early  in  the  season, 
while  later,  in  June  and  July  hatches,  from  90  to  100  pullets  have  been 
obtained  from  a  hatch  of  150  chicks.  This,  however,  does  not  prove 
or  disprove  the  theory,  and  it  is  highly  probable  that  other  elements, 
which  we  do  not  understand  or  appreciate,  enter  into  the  question  of 
control  of  sex  in  the  offspring.  It  is  a  w^ell  known  fact  that  usually 
the  generative  organs  of  the  male  undergo  considerable  change  at 
different  seasons  and  the  testes  of  the  cock  are  usually  largest  and 
best  developed  at  the  height  of  the  breeding  season,  which  generally 
is  in  April. 

There  are  many  theories  and  methods  proposed  for  the  regulation 
of  the  sex  of  chicks,  but  thus  far  none  seem  to  prove  dependable  when 
put  to  the  test.  It  is  a  fact  well  known  that  some  families  are  prone 
to  produce  females  and  others  equally  prone  to  produce  males.  This 
will  apply  to  some  breeding  birds  and  some  matings,  and  this  may 
prove  the  true  solution  of  the  control  of  sex  in  so  far  as  we  can  regu- 
late it.  If  you  have  a  male  bird  or  a  particular  mating  that  gives  you 
a  larger  percentage  of  the  desired  sex  in  the  chicks,  you  will  do  well 
to  continue  breeding  it  or  from  the  same  line  as  long  as  you  can  suc- 
cessfully, and  take  whatever  sex  of  chicks  you  get  with  as  good  grace 
as  possible.  It  is  not  probable  that  anyone  will  discover  any  infallible 
rule  for  the  control  of  the  sex  of  future  chicks,  either  by  selection  of 
eggs  or  by  handling  and  management  of  the  breeding  stock. 

Fertility  of  Eggs. — I  am  frequently  asked  how  the  fertility  or  non- 
fertility  of  an  egg  can  be  determined  before  incubation.  It  can't  be 
done  and  keep  the  egg  whole.  If  the  egg  shell  is  broken  and  the 
germinal  spot  on  the  yolk  is  examined,  an  experienced  observer  can 
say  whether  it  is  fertile  or  not.  With  the  shell  whole,  and  the  egg 
known  to  be  from  a  flock  with  which  males  are  running,  there  is  no 
test  that  will  determine  whether  it  is  fertile  or  not  until  the  egg  has 
been  incubated  for  a  few  days. 

The  fertility  of  eggs  depends  chiefly  on  the  condition  of  the  breed- 
ing stock,  the  number  of  females  allotted  to  one  male,  the  conditions 
under  which  they  are  kept  and  the  food.  If  the  breeders  are  in  poor 
condition  you  will  get  many  eggs  that  do  not  hatch  well  or  that  pro- 
duce puny  or  weakling  chicks. 

Eggs  may  be  fertile  and  yet  not  hatch  well.  This  is  because  the 
germs  are  weak  or  poorly  nourished,  because  of  poorly  balanced  egg 


HOW  TO  RAISE  CHICKS  51 

food  content.  This  may  be  due  to  debility  on  the  part  of  the  breeders 
or  to  poor  feeding.  Similar  trouble  results  from  breeding  from  birds 
forced  for  egg  production  or  from  a  male  that  has  too  many  mates 
and  is  taxed  beyond  his  capacity.  Where  such  conditions  exist  chicks 
will  die  at  all  stages  of  incubation  and  some  for  several  days  after 
exclusion.  The  germ  may  also  be  injured  by  overheating  the  eggs 
or  keeping  in  too  warm  a  place  while  saving  for  hatching.  Less  fre- 
quently trouble  may  result  from  chilling  the  eggs.  Strongly  fertile 
eggs  from  good,  healthy  stock  will  often  hatch  well  and  produce  good 
chicks  under  apparently  unfavorable  conditions.  Obviously  the  remedy 
for  unproductive  eggs  is  to  use  only  healthy  breeding  stock  and  to 
keep  the  breeders  in  good  condition  by  good  food  and  good  common 
sense  care  and  management. 

Gathering  and  Keeping  Eggs.— Eggs  for  hatching  should  be  gath- 
ered at  frequent  intervals  to  prevent  injury.  Severe  chilling  or  frost- 
ing should  be  avoided.  Even  more  dangerous  than  chilling  is  allowing 
the  eggs  to  remain  in  the  nest  under  hens  that  are  becoming  broody 
and  then  removing  them  to  save  for  hatching.  Each  egg  intended  for 
incubation  should  be  marked  with  the  pen  number  where  it  was  pro- 
duced, the  date,  and  where  possible  with  the  leg  band  number  of  the 
hen  that  laid  it.  This  is  for  the  purpose  of  identification  of  the  chick 
and  to  ascertain  the  source  of  fertile  hatchable  eggs.  Handle  eggs 
carefully  and  avoid  rough  handling.  A  bad  shaking  up  of  eggs  during 
handling  or  shipment  has  spoiled  many  a  hatch. 

A  suitable  place  for  storing  eggs  intended  for  hatching  is  neces- 
sary. Many  eggs  are  ruined  every  year  by  neglect  in  this  particular. 
The  temperature  of  the  room  in  which  the  eggs  are  kept  should  not 
fall  below  40  degrees  Fahrenheit  and  should  not  go  above  60  degrees. 
The  more  even  the  temperature,  the  better  for  the  eggs.  Eggs  have 
been  ruined  for  hatching  purposes  by  keeping  them  for  a  few  days  at 
a  temperature  of  between  75  and  85  degrees.  The  room  in  which  the 
eggs  are  kept  should  be  well  ventilated  and  should  be  as  clean  and 
wholesome  as  a  well  kept  milk  room,  where  the  air  is  dry  and  sweet. 
I  do  not  believe  in  egg  turning  devices  or  wire  egg  carriers  for 
keeping  eggs  for  incubating  purposes.  The  less  handling  the  eggs  get 
the  better.  They  do  not  need  to  be  turned  while  saving  for  hatching. 
They  may  be  kept  in  ordinary  egg  cases  in  clean  pasteboard  fillers,  but 
when  stood  on  end  in  this  manner,  if  kept  for  any  length  of  time,  the 
eggs  do  not  hatch  as  well.  If  such  a  case  is  used,  place  the  eggs  large 
end  down  and  leave  them  so. 

I  believe  that  the  best  plan  is  to  place  the  eggs  in  clean  boxes 
without  regard  as  to  the  position  of  the  eggs  and  to  cover  them  with 
a  woolen  cloth  or  blanket  to  protect  them  against  drafts  and  conse- 


52  HOW  TO  RAISE  CHICKS 

quent  evaporation.  In  high  altitudes  it  may  be  necessary  to  cover 
them  with  a  damp  blanket  to  prevent  evaporation,  but  this  should 
never  be  done  except  in  very  dry  climates  high  above  sea  level, 
where  mold  and  mustiness  is  unknown.  Once  in  three  or  four  days 
the  eggs  can  be  shifted  to  another  box  and  the  ones  first  put  in  used 
for  hatching  to  avoid  keeping  any  of  them  too  long.  Here  is  where  the 
date  on  the  shell  proves  a  help. 

Time  Eggs  May  Be  Kept. — The  fresher  eggs  are  when  incubated 
the  better.  Don't  keep  them  any  longer  than  you  are  obliged  to.  There 
is  no  need  of  keeping  eggs  intended  for  incubation  for  a  longer  period 
than  three  weeks,  and  it  is  better  not  to  keep  them  longer  than  two 
weeks.  Under  ordinary  conditions,  if  properly  cared  for  and  kept  at 
a  temperature  not  below  40  degrees  and  not  above  60  degrees,  they 
will  keep  twenty-one  days  and  still  give  a  good  hatch. 

In  high  altitudes,  or  in  exceedingly  dry  or  very  warm  climates, 
eggs  cannot  be  safely  kept  for  longer  than  one  week,  or  at  most  two 
weeks  under  favorable  conditions. 

Period  of  Incubation. — The  length  of  time  required  for  incubating 
even  common  hen  eggs  to  successful  exclusion  varies  more  than  is 
commonly  supposed.  Eggs  of  Bantams  and  some  Mediterranean 
varieties  often  hatch  earlier  than  those  of  the  American  or  Asiatic 
varieties.  Twenty-one  days  is,  however,  the  accepted  standard  time 
required  for  hatching  hen  eggs. 

The   following   table   of   length   of   period   of   incubation   for   the 
various  kinds  of  fowl  may  be  considered  as  practically  correct.    It  was 
compiled  from  a  variety  of  sources  and  will  prove  interesting  for  pur- 
poses of  comparison: 
Hens'  eggs — 

Bantams  and  small  active  varieties 19  to  20  days 

Large  varieties   20  to  21  days 

Ducks    26  to  28  days 

Muscovey  ducks   33  to  35  days 

Geese    28  to  30  days 

Turkeys    26  to  29  days 

Guinea  fowl   25  to  26  days 

Let's  Sum  It  Up. — Do  not  allow  eggs  to  remain  long  in  the  nests 
in  cold  weather.  When  the  temperature  is  ten  degrees  above  zero  or 
below,  eggs  are  liable  to  become  chilled  in  a  short  time.  In  such 
cold  weather  if  they  are  intended  for  hatching  purposes  the  eggs 
should  be  collected  three  or  four  times  a  day. 

Do  not  allow  broody  hens  to  remain  in  the  nests  used  by  the  lay- 
ers. It  does  not  do  eggs  any  good  to  remain  for  several  hours  under 
a  broody  hen  if  you  intend  to  save  them  for  hatching  purposes. 


HOW  TO  RAISE  CHICKS  53 

Bear  in  mind  that  incubation  in  a  fertile  egg  begins  several  hours 
before  the  egg  is  laid,  the  first  stages  taking  place  before  the  shell  is 
finished.  This  process  continues  to  progress  as  long  as  the  egg  is 
exposed  to  the  body  heat  of  the  hen.  It  ceases  and  the  germ  remains 
dormant  after  the  egg  is  laid  and  cooled,  but  will  begin  again  on 
exposure  of  the  egg  to  a  temperature  of  80  degrees  or  more.  Frequent 
starting  and  checking  of  the  growth  of  the  germ  or  embryo  chick  will 
result  in  an  expenditure  or  loss  of  vital  force  that  renders  the  egg  less 
likely  to  hatch  a  strong,  vigorous  chick. 

In  selecting  eggs  for  hatching  choose  only  medium-sized  eggs  with 
good,  sound  shells.  The  shape  does  not  matter  so  much  as  long  as  the 
egg  is  normal  in  appearance.  Misshapen,  deformed  shells,  very  small 
or  very  large  eggs,  eggs  with  rough,  sandy  shells,  lime  warts  or  ex- 
crescences on  the  shells,  thin  and  mottled-shelled  eggs  should  not  be 
set.  Eggs  intended  for  hatching  ought  to  be  fair-sized,  clean,  smooth, 
and  should  in  every  case  be  out  of  sound,  healthy,  vigorous  stock. 
Eggs  may  be  fertile,  may  hatch  well  and  the  chicks  still  be  unfit  to 
live  because  of  lack  of  vitality.     Do  not  forget  that. 

If  eggs  are  dirty,  fouled  with  droppings  or  other  filth,  wash  them 
before  they  are  placed  under  a  hen  or  in  an  incubator.  It  is  a  good 
plan  to  wipe  all  eggs  before  they  are  set  to  remove  any  particles  of 
dust  or  feathers  which  may  adhere  to  the  shell. 

Eggs  intended  for  hatching  should  be  handled  as  little  as  possible. 
Put  them  in  a  cool  room  where  the  air  is  fresh  and  sweet.  Place  them 
in  boxes  or  baskets  and  let  them  alone  until  they  are  wanted  for 
hatching.  The  temperature  of  the  room  in  which  the  eggs  are  kept 
should  not  be  below  40  degrees  nor  above  60  degrees  F.  Prolonged 
exposure  of  the  eggs  to  a  temperature  of  80  degrees  F.  or  above  is 
injurious.  Do  not  turn  the  eggs  daily  while  keeping  them.  Such 
handling  is  dangerous  practice  and  sure  to  result  in  losses. 

The  reason  why  so  many  eggs  sent  by  express  turn  out  badly  is 
that  they  are  frequently  heated  and  cooled  during  transit.  This  low- 
ers the  vitality,  and  even  though  the  percentage  of  fertility  may  be 
good  and  a  large  number  of  the  chicks  hatch,  you  are  liable  to  lose 
a  great  many  of  such  chicks  from  so-called  white  diarrhoea.  Eggs 
shipped  any  distance  should  be  packed  in  cases  that  are  well  insulated 
with  corrugated  straw  board  and  should  be  further  protected  by  a 
packing  of  ground  cork,  cut  hay  or  similar  material  that  will  help  in- 
sulate the  eggs  from  outside  temperatures.  It  is  common  practice  of 
express  companies  to  leave  egg  cases  on  station  platforms  exposed 
to  chilling  and  icy  winds  and  then  remove  them  to  a  hot  express  car 
or  station  waiting  room  where  the  eggs  will  be  quickly  heated  up 
alongside  a  hot  stove  or  bank  of  steam  pipes.    This  frequent  warming 


54 


HOW  TO  RAISE  CHICKS 


up  and  cooling  is  whr.t  causes  the  trouble,  and  is  a  hundred  times 
more  dangerous  than  the  jarring  the  eggs  receive  during  the  trip.  At 
the  same  time  shaking  and  jarring  eggs  does  not  do  them  any  good. 
Eggs  should  not  be  kept  too  long  before  incubating  them.  Three 
weeks  is  probably  the  maximum  limit  of  safety.  The  older  an  egg 
before  it  is  set  the  lower  the  vitality  of  the  germ  and  the  less  likeli- 
hood there  is  of  getting  a  strong  chick.  Preferably  do  not  set  eggs 
that  are  more  than  two  weeks  old.  The  fresher  the  egg  when  set 
the  better.  If  possible,  have  all  the  eggs  in  one  tray  or  in  one  machine 
or  under  one  hen  of  very  nearly  the  same  age. 


Food  ;ind  water  wa.uon  used  in  (-arinj^r  for  many  flocks  of  hen-hatehed, 
hen-reared  cliicks  on  a  Little  Conipton,  Kliode  Island,  eg<^  farm.  (Photo 
by  Dr.  Woods.) 


CHAPTER  VI. 

Incubation — Natural  and  Artificial 

IHERE  IS  NO  PRETTIER  PICTURE  of  springtime 
than  a  proud,  well  set  up,  thoroughbred  mother  hen 
surrounded  by  a  fine  flock  of  sturdy,  healthy, 
downy  chicks  that  are  well  cared  for.  Do  you. 
Reader,  possess  that  kind,  and  if  not,  why  not? 

With  proper  care  given  to  breeding  for  health 
there  is  probably  no  new-born  animal  that  comes 
into  the  world  so  well  equipped  to  live  and  thrive 
as  the  domestic  chicken.  With  the  eggs  from  sound, 
healthy  breeding  stock,  and  properly  and  normally 
incubated,  the  •  chick  is  practically  born  to  live; 
nothing  short  of  actual  abuse  will  kill  it.  The  nor 
mal  chick  possesses  wonderful  vitality  and,  given 
reasonably  good  care,  it  will  thrive.  Chicks  simply  need  to  be  kept 
comfortable,  contented  and  happy.  With  a  sensible  attendant  to 
minister  to  their  needs,  by  providing  comfortable  quarters  and  a  sup- 
ply of  wholesome  food,  they  are  quickly  taught  to  take  care  of  them- 
selves within  a  few  days  after  they  are  hatched.  Why,  then,  is  it  that 
we  have  £0  many  complaints  each  chick  season  of  difficulty  in  rearing 
chicks? 

The  answer  is  that  comparatively  few  normal  chicks  are  hatched 
today.  For  years  breeding  for  health  has  been  neglected.  Very  few 
breeders  are  sufficiently  careful  to  give  the  same  attention  to  keeping 
breeding  fowls  healthy  and  in  good  breeding  condition  that  they  would 
surely  give  to  other  farm  animals.  Stock  is  pushed  for  market  or  for 
a  big  egg  yield,  and  eggs  from  this  stock  are  used  for  hatching.  Birds 
are  conditioned  for  the  show  room,  shipped  long  distances  under  try- 
ing conditions,  and  overshown,  and  are  then  expected  to  do  their 
part  in  the  breeding  pen.  In  the  effort  to  secure  perfection  of  form 
and  plumage,  stamina  is  overlooked  and  diseased  or  constitutionally 
weak  specimens  are  bred.  To  "fix"  some  desired  standard  requisite, 
incestuous  inbreeding  is  practiced  to  an  extent  that  would  have 
wiped  out  a  less  naturally  hardy  race  long  ago.  In  the  effort  to  get 
chicks  in  season  and  out  of  season  artificial  methods  of  incubating 
and  brooding  are  resorted  to  by  persons  who  have   little  or  no  ex- 

55 


56  HOW  TO  RAISE  CHICKS 

perience  with  such  machines  and  who,  many  of  them,  either  do  not 
read  or  do  not  understand  the  directions  for  operating.  Is  it  any 
wonder  that  millions  of  chicks  every  year  are  not  well  born  and  do 
not  thrive? 

Hatching  with  hens  is  the  natural  method  and  the  one  that  yields 
the  most  certain  results  in  the  long  run.  It  is  not  practicable  at  all 
seasons  and  is  not  widely  favored  for  large  plants,  although  I  know 
of  several  egg  farms  where  most  of  the  chicks  are  spring  hatched, 
that  grow  from  two  to  four  thousand  chicks  each  year  by  natural 
methods  only.  It  is  comparatively  easy  to  learn  to  get  good  hatches 
and  to  raise  good  chicks  by  either  natural  or  artificial  methods,  if  one 
starts  with  good,  fresh  eggs  from  sound,  healthy  breeding  stock. 

How  to  Get  Good  Hatches  With  Hens. — There  is  a  great  differ- 
ence in  broo.lj'  hens.  Some  are  good  sitters  and  mothers,  others  poor 
ones.  With  the  poor  ones  you  may  always  expect  to  get  poor  hatches, 
and  chicks  that  make  a  poor  live  of  it.  It  is  always  wise  to  choose 
a  good-sized,  quiet-dispositioned,  motherly  hen  that  is  inclined  to  stick 
to  her  nest,  and  one  that  can  be  handled  without  developing  a  flurry 
of  excitement  and  cackling.  With  a  good  motherly  sitter  selected, 
preferably  a  mature  hen,  provide  a  quiet  nest  with  a  small  fenced-in 
run  where  she  can  exercise  and  feed  daily.  A  quiet  place  in  the  barn, 
shed  or  storage  room  will  serve,  but  a  small  individual  box  coop  con- 
taining the  nest  and  placed  out  of  doors  in  a  good  run  is  the  best 
place  to  set  a  hen.  (See  Rhode  Island  Brood  Coop,  Chapter  VII.)  The 
bottom  of  the  nest  should  be  filled  in  with  earth  or  an  inverted  sod 
packed  down  into  a  shallow  dish  shape.  Do  not  hollow  out  too  much 
so  that  the  eggs  will  bunch  in  center.  Pack  the  earth  well  into  the 
corners  and  dish  out  the  center  of  the  nest  a  little  to  make  it  a  very 
shallow  concave;  just  enough  so  that  eggs  will  not  roll  away  from 
under  the  hen  and  not  enough  so  that  they  will  not  spread  readily 
when  she  settles  down  on  them.  Over  this  spread  a  thin  layer  of 
clean  straw  or  soft  hay.  Dust  the  straw  with  pure,  fresh  Dalmation 
or  Persian  insect  powder  (use  only  pure,  fresh-ground  Pyrethrum). 
Give  the  hen  a  thorough  dusting  with  the  same  powder  before  you 
place  her  in  the  nest.  Let  her  sit  for  a  day  or  two  on  nest  eggs  until 
you  are  sure  she  will  stay  put,  then  give  her  as  many  eggs  as  she  can 
cover  comfortably  and  no  more.  Keep  her  confined  on  the  nest  by 
closing  the  front  of  the  box  with  a  burlap  sack  or  slatted  screen. 
Keep  the  nest  dark. 

Feed  the  hen  only  on  whole  and  cracked  corn,  supply  grit  and 
pure  water,  provide  a  dust  bath  in  the  run  for  her  use.  Allow  her  to 
leave  the  nest  for  food,  exercise  and  water  once  daily  at  as  regular  a 
feeding  time  as  possible.    In  cold  weather  cover  the  eggs  with  a  piece 


HOW  TO  RAISE  CHICKS 


57 


of  flannel  blanket  while  the  hen  is  off  the  nest,  removing  same  as  soon 
as  she  shows  an  inclination  to  return.  Do  not  allow  the  hen  to  remain 
too  long  off  the  nest  in  extreme  cold  weather.  Dust  the  hen  again 
with  Dalmation  powder  three  days  before  the  chicks  are  due  to  hatch. 
Do  not  disturb  the  hen  or  allow  her  off  the  nest  at  hatching  time. 
Keep  the  nest  dark  after  eggs  pip  until  ready  to  take  brood  off.  If 
any  eggs  are  fouled  or  soiled  during  the  hatch  they  should  be  care- 
fully washed  in  luke  warm  water  or  water  at  about  104  degrees  F. 

As  soon  as  the  hatch  is  over  remove  all  shells  and  dead  eggs  to 
give  the  chicks  more  room  under  the  hen.  Allow  the  chicks  to  remain 
in  the  nest  one  day  after  hatching  and  keep  them  quiet.  Remove  the 
little  family  to  the  brood  coops  at  noon  or  in  the  afternoon.  Do  not 
allow  too  many  chicks  to  one  hen;  15  to  25  chicks  are  enough  for  a 
good  sized  Wyandotte  or  Plymouth  Rock.  Some  hens  will  take  good 
care  of  larger  flocks  but  it  is  never  wise  or  safe  to  try  to  crowd  too 


Fig.  ].     Nest  box  for  sitters. 
by  14  in,  by  4  ft. 


Accommodates  four  hens.     Size  14  in. 


many  chicks  into  one  brood.  Better  give  the  hen  a  few  less  chicks 
than  she  can  care  for  comfortably  than  to  allow  her  a  few  too  many 
and  so  lose  them  or  perhaps  spoil  the  whole  brood. 

A  good  nest  for  sitters  (see  Fig.  1)  can  be  made  at  home,  by  any- 
one who  can  use  tools,  at  small  cost.  This  box  has  no  bottom.  The 
back  is  made  of  slats  one  inch  apart,  the  bottom  slat  being  flve  inches 
wide.  The  top  is  solid.  Front  has  bottom  board  four  inches  wide  and 
a  burlap  door  made  on  a  wooden  frame.  Dimensions  of  nest  box:  4 
ft.  long,  14  in.  high,  14  in.  wide.  It  is  divided  into  four  nests  to  ac- 
commodate four  hens.  Nest  sits  on  floor  with  back  against  wall  of 
room  used  for  sitters.  If  an  earth  floor  is  used  it  is  well  to  place  nest 
box  on  a  piece  of  wire  cloth  and  to  use  a  wire  cloth  door,  in  place  of 
burlap,  to  afford  better  protection  from  rats. 

It  is  a  good  plan  to  set  two,  four  or  six  hens  at  one  time.  Test 
out  the  eggs  when  they  have  been  under  the  hens  for  a  week  and 
remove  the  infertile  ones.    Give  the  remaining  fertile  eggs  to  as  many 


58  HOW  TO  RAISE  CHICKS 

of  the  hens  as  it  takes  to  cover  them  comfortably  and  reset  the  other 
hens  with  a  fresh  lot  of  eggs. 

H.  H.  Stoddard  says:  'There  are  as  many  methods  of  managing 
sitting  hens  as  there  are  of  killing  cats  without  choking  them  with 
butter.  There  are  a  great  many  good  ways  of  varying  degrees  of 
merit,  and  there  are  some  mighty  poor  ways  leading  to  such  rage  and 
chagrin  that  the  advertisements  of  incubators  are  hunted  up. 

"Among  a  number  of  requisites  the  chief  and  most  important  is 
freedom  and  plenty  of  room  to  run,  and  run  rapidly.  Even  if  there  is 
yard  for  her  the  maximum  of  good  will  not  be  afforded  unless  the 
yard  is  a  large  one,  or  one  narrow  but  quite  long  will  do.  Nature 
teaches  her  to  run  like  sixty  every  day  and  to  use  her  wings  vigor- 
ously also.  Sometimes  she  will  fly  quite  a  distance,  if  of  not  too 
heavy  a  breed,  and  sometimes  she  has  a  penchant  for  flying  up  to 
a  high  perch  or  high  place  of  any  kind  and  down  again.  Anything  to 
bring  into  play  the  muscles  of  legs  and  wings.  There  is  a  meaning 
to  this.  There  is  a  close  connection  between  the  use  of  these  muscles 
and  the  proper  activity  of  the  bowels.  A  proportion,  and  sometimes 
quite  a  large  proportion,  of  sitters  confined  in  cramped  quarters  show 
evidences  of  constipation  and  diarrhoea  by  turns,  and  will  foul  their 
nests. 

"Have  a  number  of  yards  for  your  stock  of  layers  of  the  sitting 
sort,  that  you  mean  to  use  as  sitters  from  time  to  time  as  they  become 
broody.  Two  yards  or  four  or  a  dozen  or  twenty,  according  to  the 
scale  you  are  operating  on.  Each  is  supposed  to  be  ten  or  twelve  rods 
square,  if  space  can  be  afforded,  but  any  way  must  be  ten  or  twelve 
rods  long  in  the  direction  the  division  fences  run,  even  if  only  five 
or  six  rods  wide.  These  yards  are  all  side  by  side,  and  all  alike,  and 
each  has  a  row  of  movable  coops  located  on  either  side  of  the  yard 
near  each  division  fence.  That  is,  each  yard  has  two  rows  of  these 
coops.  Each  coop  is  large  enough  to  hold  a  sitter's  nest,  or  a  hen 
with  brood,  and  is  intended  to  serve  either  purpose  as  required.  Every 
other  yard  has  a  fiock  of  laying  hens  in  it  of  a  sitting  breed.  Every 
other  yard  is  empty  of  fowls  at  the  start. 

"Now,  note  that  the  nests  and  everything  else  in  a  yard  are  just 
as  in  other  adjoining  yards  each  side  of  it.  One  yard  is  a  duplicate 
of  the  next,  except  that  one  has  a  lot  of  fowls  in  it  and  the  other  not. 
As  soon  as  a  hen  offers  to  sit  she  is  put  over  the  fence  where  she  sees 
a  yard  that  looks  like  home  and  a  nest  that  looks  exactly  like  the  one 
she  had  been  using,  and  which  stands  in  the  same  position  in  regard 
to  a  division  fence  and  to  all  other  surroundings.  It  has  some  nest 
eggs  in  it.  If  she  is  worth  a  cent  as  a  sitter  she  will  take  to  them  as 
a  duck  to  water,  at  sundown,  anyhow,  if  not  sooner.     If  she  does  not. 


HOW  TO  RAISE  CHICKS  59 

then  see  to  it  that  she  is  removed  to  another  part  of  the  farm  and 
never  allowed  again  in  Sitter's  Row  to  disgrace  the  profession. 

"Now  one  little  precaution.  To  aid  layers  to  recognize  different 
nest  coops  have  some  distinguishing  object  at  each.  A  box,  a  bundle 
of  cornstalks,  or  a  fencepost  or  a  board  or  anything,  in  short,  that  is 
big  enough  to  be  somewhat  prominent.  Have  these  nest  coops  in 
pairs  with  fence  between.  For  instance,  if  a  nail  keg  is  the  badge  of 
a  particular  nest  coop,  then  over  the  fence  is  another  coop  with  a 
nail  keg  exactly  like  it  at  same  side  of  yard,  north  side  or  west  side 
or  whatever,  in  the  same  position.  Suppose  the  division  fences  run 
north  and  south  and  the  yard  occupied  by  a  lot  of  fowls  has  prominent 
objects  such  as  a  roost  and  bower  for  shade  at  the  south  end  of  this 
yard.  Why  in  the  south  end  of  the  yard  adjoining  where  the  incubat- 
ing is  to  be  done  have  exactly  such  a  roost  and  shade.  The  idea  is, 
of  course,  to  not  let  madam  know  that  she  is  in  another  yard." 

How  to  Get  Good  Hatches  With  Incubators. — In  ancient  times, 
before  Christianity  came  to  the  world,  artificial  incubation  was  knovv^n 
and  practiced  in  Egypt,  and  fireless  brooders  were  commonly  used  to 
rear  the  chicks.  The  eggs  were  hatched  by  the  wholesale  in  mammoth 
incubatories  and  the  people  from  far  and  near,  in  the  country  about 
these  hatching  ovens,  brought  their  eggs  to  be  hatched  or  exchanged 
them  for  chicks.  We  have  it  on  good  authority  that  similar  hatching 
ovens  and  similar  customs  prevail  in  Egypt  today,  and  the  chicks  are 
said  to  thrive  well.  It  isn't  artificial  incubation  that  causes  the  alarm- 
ing chicken  mortality  in  this  country,  but  undoubtedly  part  of  the 
losses  are  due  to  the  use  of  poorly  constructetd  machines  or  to  the 
unskilled  use  of  good  incubators.  In  Egypt  the  hatching  is  done  by 
experts;  the  art  of  hatching  eggs  by  artificial  means  has  been  handed 
down  from  master  to  apprentice  for  many  generations.  The  Chinese 
have  been  adepts  at  artificial  incubation  for  centuries,  but  with  them 
time  counts  for  little  when  learning  how.  With  the  hustling  American 
things  are  different;  he  has  confidence  and  is  in  a  hurry  to  get  there; 
often  he  appears  to  think  it  a  waste  of  time  to  study  directions  or  to 
take  time  to  learn  the  operation  of  an  incubator  before  he  tries  to 
make  a  business  of  hatching  eggs  with  it.  That  he  sometimes  suc- 
ceeds in  spite  of  heedless  haste  may  be  attributetd  to  a  natural  apt- 
ness of  the  race  to  learn  to  take  advantage  of  the  lessons  of  ex- 
perience; too  often  he  will  not  take  time  to  learn  the  lesson  thor- 
oughly, and  it  can  be  safely  said,  without  fear  of  successful  contradic- 
tion, that  we  have  very  few  masters  of  artificial  incubation  in  our 
country  and  a  very  large  army  of  experimenters  who  seem  mere 
concerned  with  producing  novelties  than  with  practical  results.  Con- 
sidering this,  it  is  not  remarkable  that  millions  of  chicks  are  ill  born 


60  HOW  TO  RAISE  CHICKS 

and  do  not  thrive  each  season.  It  speaks  well  for  the  vitality  of  our 
domestic  fowls  that  so  many  chicks  do  live  and  thrive  under  condi- 
tions  that  would  quickly  exterminate  less  hardy  animals. 

But,  you  say,  novices  frequently  report  good  results  from  artificial 
methods.  Sure  they  do.  and  some  of  them  undoubtedly  get  them  at 
first,  when  they  apply  themselves  sufficiently  to  following  carefully 
prepared  directions,  but  one  or  two  successful  hatches  don't  make  an 
incubator  expert  any  more  than  one  swallow  makes  a  summer.  The 
best  advice  that  can  be  given  to  beginners  with  incubators  is  to 
STUDY  AND  LEARN  TO  APPLY  THE  MANUFACTURER'S  DIREC- 
TIONS. If  you  cannot  get  good  results  that  way,  put  it  up  to  the 
manufacturer  and  do  it  hard.  But  first  make  sure  that  the  fault  is  not 
your  own  and.  no  matter  how  you  intend  to  hatch  'em,  BE  SURE  TO 
USE  ONLY  GOOD  FRESH  EGGS,  FROM  SOUND,  HEALTHY  BREED- 
ING STOCK. 

Frequently  beginners  are  successful  at  first  because  everything  is 
new  and  clean  and  they  are  fortunate  enough  to  have  good,  fresh  eggs 
from  sound,  healthy  breeders.  Such  success,  however,  sometimes 
leads  to  disaster  later  on,  because  it  looks  so  easy,  and  then  careless- 
ness in  little  essentials  begins  the  downfall.  Never  permit  yourself 
to  think  that  "you  know  all  about  poultry;"  nobody  on  this  green  earth 
does,  and  "the  wise  are  always  learning." 

Incubators  and  brooders  are  necessary  for  poultry  growing  on  a 
large  scale.  In  buying  such  machines  try  to  get  practical  merit  and 
simplicity  of  construction  and  operation.  Beware  of  plausible  "talk- 
ing points,"  complicated  construction,  and  frequently  added,  but  not 
lasting,  "improvements."  Novelties  in  construction  and  frequent 
changes  in  same  are  chiefly  for  the  purpose  of  "helping  sales,"  and 
don't  add  to  the  efficiency  of  the  machines.  Bear  in  mind  that  arti- 
ficial incubating  and  brooding  are  many  centuries  older  than  Christi- 
anity and  we  have  not  yet  discovered  anyone  who  has  learned  any  im- 
portant new  facts  concerning  such  methods.  Simplicity  is  one  of  the 
chief  essentials,  both  in  the  matter  of  construction  and  in  operation. 
When  you  buy,  get  a  machine  you  can  understand  and  that  the  manu- 
facturer can  demonstrate  in  a  way  you  can  understand.  Don't  take 
too  much  stock  in  printed  testimonials.  They  are  easy  to  get  and  a 
well-written,  well-printed  one  is  often  so  good  an  ad  for  the  giver  that 
it  is  an  inducement  to  have  a  good  one  circulated.  The  only  recom- 
mendation that  counts  is  one  from  someone  in  whom  you  have  con- 
fidence and  whom  you  know  is  successful  and  who  makes  it  to  you 
personally,  exclusively  for  your  benefit.  Whoever  heard  of  a  poor 
servant  that  did  not  have  plenty  of  written  references?  Most  of  'em 
given  because  the  party  asked  found  it  easier  to  give  than  to  refuse. 


HOW  TO  RAISE  CHICKS  61 

There  are  plenty  of  good  machines  that  will  give  good  results  when 
properly  operated,  and  it  pays  to  be  sure  before  you  buy,  rather  than 
to  be  sorry  afterward.  The  best  one  for  you  is  the  one  that  is  giving 
the  most  satisfactory  results  in  your  immediate  neighborhood.  It  is 
difficult  to  produce  a  machine  that  will  yield  equally  satisfactory  re^ 
suits  in  all  parts  of  this  poultry-growing  world,  where  so  many  dif- 
ferent conditions  and  climatic  factors  enter  into  the  problem. 

Be  sure  to  use  a  dependable,  standard-pattern  incubator.  In  mat- 
ters of  operation  follow  strictly  the  manufacturer's  directions.  If  pos- 
sible, locate  the  machine  in  a  well-ventilated  cellar  having  an  earth 
floor.  Do  not  run  the  incubator  in  a  room  or  small  cellar  containing 
heating  apparatus  in  which  a  coal  fire  is  kept  burning.  Coal  gas, 
where  the  cellar  is  small  and  ill  ventilated,  may  prove  fatal  to  the 
embryo  chicks.  If  necessary  to  use  such  a  cellar,  partition  off  a  room 
for  the  incubator  and  arrange  so  that  the  incubator  room  can  have 
Independent  ventilation.  This  is  an  important  precaution.  It  is  also 
a  wise  plan  to  arrange  some  means  for  piping  off  the  lamp  fumes  from 
the  incubators.  The  imperfect  combustion  of  burning  kerosene  oil  by 
aid  of  a  lamp  wick  gives  off  dangerous  products  that  are  poisonous  to 
the  embryo  chicks  in  the  eggs.  Select  eggs  for  use  in  incubators  with 
as  great  care  as  you  would  if  you  intended  to  set  them  under  hens. 
Use  only  perfectly  fresh  eggs  that  have  been  properly  kept. 

Thoroughly  clean  the  incubator  before  you  start  a  hatch.  Sun 
and  air  all  movable  parts.  After  you  have  the  machine  heated  up 
and  regulating  properly  spray  or  paint  the  entire  interior  of  the  egg 
chamber  with  a  solution  of  creolin  (or  any  good  commercial  creolin 
substitute  or  cresol  disinfectant)  and  water  (use  soft  water)  6  to  12 
hours  before  you  place  the  eggs  in  the  machine.  Do  not  be  afraid  to 
get  the  interior  of  the  machine  wet.  To  make  the  solution  add  one 
gill  of  creolin  to  SVz  quarts  of  warm  water  and  thoroughly  mix.  So 
disinfecting  the  machine  will  lessen  the  liability  of  infection  from 
any  germs  that  may  be  contained  on  eggs  from  doubtful  sources,  and 
will  insure  the  destruction  of  mold  spores  and  other  germs  which 
are  commonly  found  in  old  incubators.  This  practice  alone  has 
resulted  in  a  surprising  reduction  of  the  mortality  of  incubator  chicks. 

In  incubator  operation  be  careful  not  to  allow  the  temperature 
to  run  too  high.  Prolonged  and  frequent  exposure  of  the  eggs  to  a 
temperature  of  104  degrees  F.  and  above  has  an  injurious  effect  upon 
the  embryo  and  results  in  a  loss  of  vitality  through  over-stimulation. 
Such  eggs  may  hatch  and  give  you  a  large  percentage  of  chicks,  but 
commonly  they  will  die  off  rapidly  during  the  first  two  weeks  in  the 
brooder,  Frequently  the  chicks  die  in  the  shell  from  exhaustion  of 
vitality.  The  safest  incubating  temperatures  are  from  101 1/^  to  1021/4  de- 


62  HOW  TO  RAISE  CHICKS 

grees  during  the  first  week,  103  degrees  from  the  time  of  the  first  test  on 
the  seventh  day  until  the  eggs  begin  to  pip.  At  pipping  time  and  while 
the  chicks  are  hatching  out  the  temperature  may  be  allowed  to  go  to 
104  degrees  or  even  105  degrees  without  doing  harm.  Too  much 
cooling  and  too  much  ventilation  in  the  early  stages  of  incubation  is 
harmful,  the  eggs  lose  moisture  and  the  membranes  toughen. 

After  the  chicks  are  hatched  they  need  all  of  the  fresh  air  you 
can  give  them  and  at  the  same  time  keep  them  comfortably  warm. 
Chicks  are  often  injured  by  failure  to  give  them  a  sufficient  supply  of 
fresh  air  after  they  have  hatched  and  begun  to  dry  off.  Conditions 
are  very  different  when  the  chick  is  in  the  egg  breathing  through 
the  blood  vessels  which  line  the  shell  than  they  are  after  it  has  been 
excluded  and  begins  to  breathe  through  its  lungs.  While  in  the  shell 
too  much  fresh  air  and  a  strong  air  current  in  the  egg  chamber  i"? 
not  beneficial  and  is  sometimes  even  injurious  through  drying  down 
the  eggs  too  much,  resulting  in  a  loss  of  moisture  needed  by  the  chicks. 
Some  incubators  having  a  forced  draft  ventilating  plan  use  moisture 
pans  or  sand  trays  to  avoid  so  far  as  possible  this  drying  down 
process. 

Ordinarily  it  is  best  to  operate  an  incubator  in  a  room  where 
the  outside  or  room  temperature  can  be  maintained  fairly  uniform. 
It  is  not  wise  to  run  an  incubator  where  the  outside  temperature  is 
below  40  degrees  or  above  80  degrees  F.  A  fairly  constant  tempera- 
ture between  50  degrees  and  60  degrees  F.  is  almost  ideal  for  incu- 
bator operation,  provided  the  room  has  good  ventilation  and  the  lamp 
fumes  are  carried  away  in  such  a  manner  that  they  cannot  enter  the 
machine.  Always  provide  for  an  abundance  of  fresh  air  in  the  incu- 
bator room.  It  is  required  by  the,  lamps  and  also  for  the  purpose  of 
preventing  concentrated  lamp  fumes  entering  the  egg  chamber.  An 
earth  floor  is  best;  cement  floors  are  not  desirable,  except  as  walks 
between  rows  of  machines. 

Eggs  should  be  turned,  preferably  by  hand  outside  of  the  machine, 
twice  daily  after  they  have  been  incubated  36  hours  and  continuing 
until  the  18th  day.  at  which  time  stop  turning  and  let  the  eggs  alone 
until  they  hatch.  Do  not  turn  the  eggs  on  the  day  on  which  you 
test  them.  Do  not  expose  eggs  to  a  temperature  below  40  degrees 
F.  while  testing.  In  testing  at  any  temperature  below  60  degrees 
F.  protect  the  eggs  both  above  and  below  by  a  warm  flannel  blanket. 
When  testinjr  or  when  cooling  the  eggs  protect  the  bottom  of  the  egg 
tray.  If  bottom  of  tray  is  exposed  as  well  as  the  top  the  eggs  cool 
too  quickly.     Try  to  duplicate  conditions  in  the  hen's  nest. 

Little  chicks  should  remain  in  the  incubator  until  about  36  hours 
old.     With  incubators  that  have  glass  doors  it  is  well  to  darken  the 


HOW  TO  RAISE  CHICKS  63 

front  of  the  machine  by  hanging  a  heavy  paper  or  cloth  in  front 
of  the  door  while  the  eggs  are  hatching.  The  little  wet  chicks  ought 
to  stay  on  the  egg  tray  until  they  are  dried  off.  It  does  not  do  them 
any  good  to  fall  into  the  cooler  nursery  department  before  they  are 
well  dried,  as  they  are  liable  to  become  chilled  by  so  doing. 

When  the  little  chicks  are  well  dried  off  it  is  a  good  plan  to 
open  the  incubator  door  the  width  of  one  or  two  matches.  Drive  a 
tack  into  the  front  of  the  machine  above  the  door  and  attach  to  this 
a  piece  of  soft  wire.  A  turn  or  two  of  the  other  end  of  the  wire  about 
the  knob  of  the  incubator  door  will  hold  same  in  position  and  open 
to  the  desired  degree. 

Bear  in  mind  that  too  much  and  too  frequent  cooling,  over- 
heating and  prolonged  exposure  of  the  eggs  to  a  temperature  of  104 
degrees  or  above  is  liable  to  invite  disaster  and  result  in  losses  of 
the  chicks,  even  if  they  do  hatch  well.  Overheating  is  more  danger- 
ous than  prolonged  cooling.  Rough  handling  of  the  eggs  while  turn- 
ing them  is  also  injurious.  When,  after  testing,  only  a  comparatively 
few  eggs  remain  in  the  machine,  place  them  in  the  center  of  the 
tray  and  confine  them  by  means  of  small,  smooth  pieces  of  wood  laid 
on  the  egg  tray  to  prevent  the  eggs  rolling  about. 

Always  try  to  run  your  incubator  with  a  lamp  flame  of  moderate 
or  medium  height  and  secure  as  close  an  adjustment  of  the  regulating 
device  as  possible.  With  incubators  having  an  outside  galvanized 
iron  heater  and  heated  by  the  hot  air  plan,  the  metal  disc  attached 
to  the  regulator  arm  should  be  adjusted  to  run  as  close  as  possible 
to  the  opening  in  the  top  of  the  heater.  If  allowed  to  run  too  high 
it  requires  too  much  superheated  air  to  maintain  the  proper  degree 
of  heat  in  the  incubator,  and  such  condition  is  injurious  to  the  embryo 
chicks. 

Incubator  operators  should  bear  in  mind  that  machine  incubating 
and  brooding  is  a  purely  artificial  method  of  rearing  poultry,  and  can- 
not be  expected  to  equal  or  excel  the  natural,  normal  method  of 
hatching  and  brooding.  On  poultry  plants  where  the  breeding  stock 
has  been  machine  hatched  and  brooded  for  several  generations,  there 
is  usually  something  lacking  in  the  breeding  stock;  and  the  eggs, 
though  running  a  fair  percentage  fertile,  do  not  possess  the  same 
vitality  as  those  from  stock  back  of  which  are  many  generations  of 
hen  hatched  chicks. 

The  artificially  hatched  and  reared  stock  apparently  lose  a  trifle 

each   succeeding  generation  until   it  becomes   difficult  to  obtain  the 

best  results  in  hatching.     It  is  a  wise  plan  to  grow  a  few  breeders 

each  year  by  purely  natural  methods  of  hen  hatching  and  hen  rearing. 

Mammoth  Incubators.— Within  the  past  few  years  there  has  been 


64  HOW  TO  RAISE  CHICKS 

a  tendency  among  those  investigating  artificial  incubation  to  return 
to  the  methods  of  earlier  days.  Even  the  small  hot  water  incubator 
seems  to  be  coming  back  again  to  its  own  and  unquestionably,  in 
sizes  from  50  eggs  to  200  eggs,  some  lamp  heated  hot  water  incuba- 
tors are  doing  excellent  work. 

Centuries  ago  mammoth  incubators,  capable  of  hatching  thou- 
sands of  eggs,  were  used  in  the  Orient  and  these  were  great  ovens 
or  chambers  heated  by  burning  dung;  such  incubatories  are  to  be 
fojnd  loday  in  Egypt.     Today  we  find  the  greatest  advancement  in 


Fig.  1.     Fresh  egg  before  incubating. 

artificial  incubation  represented  by  the  coal  heated  hot  water  mam- 
moth incubators  capable  of  holding  from  1,000  to  60,000  eggs.  These 
machines  are  really  a  series  of  small  individual  incubators  independ- 
ent of  one  another  as  to  filling  and  hatching  but  having  system  of 
hot  water  pipe  or  radiator  heating  from  one  or  more  coal  burning 
heaters.  They  require  a  specially  built  cellar.  Such  machines  still 
need  perfecting  in  order  to  reach  the  maximum  efficiency  but  there 
are  a  considerable  number  of  them  in  operation  that  are  yielding 
good  results.  In  economy  and  ease  of  operation  they  certainly  are 
ahead  of  the  individual  small  machine  and  the  best  makes  hatch 
quite  as  well  or  better  than  the  large  sizes  of  lamp  heated  incubators. 


HOW  TO  RAISE  CHICKS  65 

Some  poultrymen  believe  that  chicks  hatched  by  hot  water  heat  are 
better  than  those  hatched  by  diffusion  of  hot  air  or  radiation  from 
a  hot  air  heated  drum. 

How  to  Test  Eggs  During  Incubation. — Eggs  should  be  tested  at 
least  once  during  incubation  and  the  infertile  eggs,  as  well  as  the 
dead  germs,  removed  from  the  machine  or  from  under  the  hens. 
When  a  number  of  hens  are  set  at  the  same  time  and  the  eggs  are 
not  running  a  good  percentage  fertile,  it  is  often  possible  to  save  the 
time  of  the  sitters  by  testing  the  eggs  at  the  end  of  the  first  week. 


Fig.  2.     Dead  germ  or  ''blood  streak." 

giving  the  fertile  eggs  to  as  many  hens  as  can  cover  them  well  and 
resetting  the  other  hens  with  fresh  eggs. 

When  it  is  difficult  to  get  a  sufticient  number  of  sitters  and  there 
are  not  enough  eggs  to  fill  an  incubator,  the  eggs  on  hand  can  be 
started  in  the  incubator,  tested  at  the  end  of  a  week  and  the  fertile 
ones  given  to  hens  to  hatch.  This  saves  time  and  avoids  the  accumu- 
lation of  hatching  eggs  that  are  too  stale  to  hatch  well  when  enough 
have  been  obtained  to  fill  a  machine.  The  plan  works  well  and  is 
popular  with  a  number  of  practical  poultrymen. 

Infertile  eggs  tested  out  of  the  incubator  at  the  end  of  a  week 
are  quite  good  for  home  cooking  purposes  and  often  bakers  will  be 


66  HOW  TO  RAISE  CHICKS 


glad  to  buy  them.  It  is,  however,  necessary  to  test  them  carefully 
and  be  sure  to  include  only  clear,  infertile  eggs  in  those  for  cooking 
purposes.  If  sold  they  should  be  sold  as  infertile  eggs  tested  out 
from  an  incubator.  Tested  out  eggs  from  under  hens  cannot  be  used 
for  cooking,  as  they  are  liable  to  prove  strong  flavored. 

New  incubators  are  supplied  with  egg  testers  by  the  manufac- 
turers and  these  simple  testers  for  use  with  lamp  or  other  artificial 
light  are  easy  to  use,  but  most  of  them  require  a  dark  room.  Box 
testers,  equipped  with  a  powerful  reflector  for  use  with  lamp,  gas  or 
electric  light,  are  excellent  and  do  good  work.    Any  of  these  can  be 


Fig.  3.    Strong  germed  fertile  egg  on  7th  day. 

bought  of  poultry  supply  houses  at  reasonable  cost.  You  can  make 
a  good  egg  tester  for  daylight  use  at  home  for  a  very  small  cost.  All 
that  is  needed  is  a  soft  pine  board  about  ten  inches  wide  and  long 
enough  to  fit  in  the  window  of  your  incubator  room.  Near  the  center 
of  this  board  make  two  holes  about  one  and  one-half  inches  in 
diameter  and  four  inches  apart  (edge  to  edge).  About  the  edges  of 
these  holes  tack  soft  felt,  leather  or  a  piece  cut  from  the  leg  of  an 
old  rubber  boot  to  make  a  soft  pad  to  press  the  egg  against  when 
holding  up  to  the  hole  in  testing.  With  such  a  board,  fastened  in 
place?  in  a  sunny  window  the  eggs  can  be  tested  very  quickly  by  hold- 


HOW  TO  RAISE  CHICKS  67 

ing  them  to  the  testing  holes  and  viewing  the  egg  contents  by  the 
light  which  shines  through.  A  curtain  can  be  used  above  the  board 
to  keep  light  out  of  the  operator's  eyes,  but  it  is  not  necessary.  I 
find  sunlight  very  satisfactory  when  testing  eggs  and  have  had  excel- 
lent results  with  just  daylight  when  the  sun  did  not  shine.  It  is  a 
clean,  easy  method  and  does  away  with  hot  smelly  lamps. 

Kven  if  you  do  not  want  to  save  time  and  room,  eggs  should  be 
tested  during  incubation  to  get  rid  of  infertile  eggs  and  dead  germs, 
as  it  gives  the  remaining  eggs  a  better  chance.     Testing  is  easily 


A 
Fig.  4.    Infertile  egg  after  14  days'  incubation. 

learned  and  the  illustrations  herewith,  from  photographs,  will  prove 
a  help  to  the  beginner. 

Figure  1  shows  a  fresh  egg  as  it  looks  when  held  in  front  of  the 
tester.  The  air  cell  shows  at  the  top  and  the  pores  in  the  egg  shell 
are  plainly  seen.  The  shadow  of  the  yolk  is  seen  a  little  above  the 
center  at  the  left.  There  is  no  way  to  tell,  without  breaking  it, 
whether  such  an  egg  is  fertile  or  not  until  it  has  been  incubated  for 
a  few  days.  This  was  a  dark  shelled  hen  egg  and  was  comparatively 
fresh. 

Figure  2  shows  a  dead  germ,  ''blood  streak"  or  "broken  yolk" 


68  HOW  TO  RAISE  CHICKS 

egg  as  tested  out  after  a  few  days'  incubation.  The  irregular  diagonal 
line,  running  from  the  top  at  the  right  to  deep  shadow  of  the  yolk 
at  the  lower  left,  is  the  blood  streak,  a  bright  red  blood  vessel  and 
the  indication  that  incubation  started  and  stopped  through  death  of 
embryo.  Such  eggs  should  be  tested  out  and  buried.  This  also  was 
a  dark  shelled  egg. 

Figure  3  shows  a  good  strong  germed  fertile  egg  after  seven 
days'  incubation.  Note  the  many  healthy  appearing  blood  vessels 
and  the  considerable  dark  area,  also  the  well  developed  air  space 
at  large  end  of  egg.  When  this  egg  was  held  before  the  tester  the 
embryo  chick  was  out  of  sight  at  the  right  and  could  not  be  brought 


Fig.  5.     Strong  germed  fertile  egg  after  14  days'  incubation. 

into  focus.  In  light  shelled  eggs  the  embryo  can  often  be  plainly 
seen.  Eggs  like  this  will  generally  hatch  if  the  balance  of  incuba- 
tion is   properly  conducted. 

Figure  4  is  an  infertile  egg  after  fourteen  days'  incubation.  Note 
the  large  air  space  in  large  end  and  the  shadow  of  the  flattened  yolk 
above  the  center  of  the  egg.  This  egg  should  have  been  tested  out 
on  the  seventh  day  and  used  for  cooking  purposes;  after  fourteen 
days  in  the  machine  it  was  no  longer  fit  for  use. 


HOW  TO  RAISE  CHICKS 


69 


Figure  5  is  a  strong  germed  fertile  egg  after  two  weeks'  incuba- 
tion. Note  that  the  large  dark  area  indicates  that  the  chick  and 
membranes  nearly  fill  the  shell,  bright  red  blood  vessels  are  noticed 
near  the  large  end  where  they  show  above  the  dark  mass. 

Try  your  eggs  out  before  the  tester,  using  these  illustrations 
as  a  guide,  and  after  a  few  trials  you  will  become  sufficiently  exper- 
ienced to  test  rapidly.  Any  eggs  about  which  you  are  in  doubt  can 
be  left  in  the  machine  and  tried  out  at  the  next  test.  Mark  them 
for  identification,  using  a  soft  pencil. 


CHAPTER  VII. 

Brooding  Chicks  With  Hens  and  Brooders 


lEFORE  TAKING  UP  ARTIFICIAL  BROODING  I 
want  to  say  a  few  words  about  the  natural  method, 
since  losses  do  frequently  occur  in  hen  hatched 
and  brooded  flocks.  When  the  little  chicks  are 
about  one  day  to  36  hours  old  the  mother  hen  and 
her  brood  are  ready  to  go  to  permanent  brooding 
quarters.  These  should  be  in  a  comfortable  brood 
coop,  packing  case,  box  or  barrel  having  a  slatted 
front,  so  that  the  hen  can  be  confined  and  the 
little  chicks  permitted  to  run.  The  box  or  brood 
coop  should  be  protected  from  the  weather  so  that 
rain  cannot  beat  in  and  make  it  wet  and  uncom- 
fortable. It  should  be  placed  in  some  dry  shel- 
tered spot  so  that  it  will  not  be  too  hot  for  the  hen  mother  during 
the  warm  and  sunny  part  of  the  day.  The  brood  coop  should  as  a 
rule  face  south.  Cut  straw,  chopped  hay,  clover  or  sand  may  be 
used  to  litter  the  floor  of  the  brood  coop.  Provide  sun  shelters  of 
canvas,  burlap,  boards  or  evergreen  boughs  in  front  of  coop. 

The  hen  mother  should  have  a  constant  supply  of  corn  and 
wheat,  or  good  clean  wheat  screenings,  close  by  the  front  of  her 
coop  within  easy  reach.  A  drinking  fountain  of  pure  water  should 
also  be  easily  accessible.  The  food  for  the  little  chicks  should  be 
fed  on  a  feeding  board  or  from  a  covered  hopper  just  out  of  reach 
of  the  mother  hen,  so  that  she  cannot  waste  this  more  expensive 
grain  mixture.  Confine  the  little  chicks  close  to  the  mother's  coop 
for  the  first  few  days.  After  they  are  a  week  old  they  can  be  given 
practically  free  range  on  grass  land  if  desired.  In  cold  weather 
the  brood  coop  should  be  placed  under  shelter  in  an  open  shed  or 
open  front  coop  where  the  chicks  can  have  an  indoor  fresh  air  run. 
Fine  sifted,  pure  beef  scrap  and  a  good  dry  grain  chick  food  should 
be  kept  before  the  little  chicks  from  the  start,  giving  them  their 
first  feed  as  soon  as  they  are  placed  in  the  brood  coop.  Variety 
food  and  green  food  should  be  supplied  in  the  same  manner  as  for 
brooder  chicks.  Keep  the  chicks  with  their  hen  mother  until  she 
weans  them  and  then  put  them  in  colony  coops  25  to  50  in  a  flock. 

71 


n 


HOW  TO  RAISE  CHICKS 


Hen  and  Chicks. — One  of  the  best  brood  coops  for  hen  and 
chicks  is  the  Rhode  Island  brood  coop  (see  Fig.  2)  combined  with 
the  box  coop  for  brood  hens  (see  Fig.  3).  The  Rhode  Island  brood 
coop  is  made  of  i/^  inch  box  board  stuff  and  has  a  removable  floor. 
It  is  21/^  feet  cube  with  the  addition  of  a  double  pitch  roof  of  lapped 
boards  and  it  has  a  ventilating  door  above  the  window  front;  the 
hole  is  about  4  inches  in  diameter  and  is  closed  by  a  slide  when 
desired. 

In  this  coop  is  used  a  box  coop  for  brood  hens  that  will  just  fit 
into  the  rear  half  of  the  brood  coop.  This  box  coop  is  simply  a 
cracker  box  with  a  slatted  opening  for  chicks  in  one  end  or  front 
(see  Fig.  3).     The  back  of  this  box  has  a  hinged  lid  so  that  it  can 


Fig.  2.  Rhode  Island  brood  coop  for  hen  and  chicks.  It  is  2i/,  feet 
cube  with  double  pitch  roof  and  is  made  of  box  boards.  The  floor  is 
removable.  The  ventilating  hole  above  window  is  4  inches  in  diameter. 
This  coop  will  accommodate  a  brood  hen  and  twenty-five  chicks.  The  hen 
does  not  leave  the  coop,  but  the  chicks  are  allowed  to  range  as  soon  as 
large  enough.  In  cold  weather  and  when  the  chicks  are  small,  or  when  it  is 
desired  to  set  a  hen  in  the  coop,  a  brood  box  (see  Fig.  3)  is  used  in  this 
brood  coop. 


be  easily  cleaned.  This  box  can  be  used  in  the  brood  coop  when 
hatching  with  hens  by  simply  making  a  nest  in  one  end  of  the  brood 
box. 

The  brood  hen  is  kept  always  confined  to  the  brood  box  in  cold 
weather  and  when  the  chicks  are  small.  Later  she  is  permitted  to 
have  the  whole  of  the  brood  coop  and  the  brood  box  is  removed  to 
give  the  chicks  more  house  room.  The  rule  is  to  keep  the  hen  con- 
fined and  to  let  the  chicks  run.  At  first  they  have  only  the  run  of 
the  floor  space  of  the  brood  coop  that  is  left  in  front  of  the  brood 
box.  As  they  grow  and  need  more  run  they  are  given  a  run  outside 
of  the  brood  coop  and  eventually  have  practically  free  range.  Each 
hen  is  allowed  25  chicks. 


HOW  TO  RAISE  CHICKS 


73 


With  a  battery  of  brood  coops  placed  in  rows  in  a  field,  about 
ten  paces  apart,  it  is  possible  for  one  man  to  comfortably  care  for 
five  thousand  hen  brooded  chicks  quite  as  easily  as  he  could  for  the 
same  number  of  chicks  in  brooders  where  brooding  is  done  during 
mild  springlike  weather.  One  Rhode  Island  breeder  who  uses  this 
plan  of  brooding  put  into  his  rearing  field  in  April,  1908,  864  hen- 
hatched  chicks,  25  allotted  to  each  brood  hen  in  a  brood  coop,  and 
in  the  fall  he  had  862  chicks  well  grown  and  ready  to  house,  a  loss 
of  only  two  chicks  out  of  864.  This  remarkable  record  would  be 
difficult  to  duplicate  with  any  brooding  system. 

Where  these  brood  coops  are  used  out  of  doors  in  very  cold 
weather  two  hens  which  come  off  together  are  sometimes  given  the 
same  brood  in  one  coop  in  order  to  be  sure  that  chicks  are  kept 
more  comfortable.  It  is  necessary  to  make  sure  that  you  use  two 
hens  that  are  not  inclined  to  be  quarrelsome.     With  this  system  the 


Fig.  3.     Brood  box  for  brood  hens,  or  may  be  used  for  sitters.     This 
box  is  made  to  fit  into  the  rear  half  of  the  Rhode  Island  brood  coop. 


hen  teaches  the  chicks  and  that  is  a  decided  advantage  over  arti- 
ficial brooding  where  the  operator  has  to  play  hen  mother. 

Brood  Coop,  Slatted  Run  and  Shelter  Tent. — A  simple  and  cheaply 
constructed  brood  coop  (see  Fig.  4)  is  the  apex  or  "A"  shaped  coop 
Make  it  with  a  removable  board  floor,  solid  back  and  roof  and  slatted 
front.  Dimensions:  2^^  feet  square  at  base  and  2^^  feet  high  at 
the  peak.  In  the  illustration  this  coop  is  shown  with  a  slatted  run 
for  hen  and  a  shelter  tent  of  awning  duck  to  protect  the  flock  against 
rain  and  sun.  Another  good  brood  coop  is  the  Rhode  Island  brood 
coop,  shown  in  Fig.  2.  This  coop  is  about  2^/^  feet  wide,  2i/^  feet 
deep  and  3  feet  high  at  peak.  It  has  a  ventilator  in  gable.  Door 
and  front  are  made  by  a  6  light  half  sash,  which  slides  in  cleats. 
In  both  styles  the  mother  hen  is  confined  and  the  chicks  are  allowed 
to  run. 

Fig.  5  and  Fig.  6  show  a  field  of  brood  coops  with  slatted  runs, 


74 


HOW  TO  RAISE  CHICKS 


the  entire  field  protected  by  a  twine  hawk  and  crow  scare.  I  was 
told  that  it  took  five  dollars'  worth  of  twine  to  protect  this  plant 
and  it  was  considered  well  worth  the  money.  Before  it  was  used 
the  owner  lost  nearly  a  hundred  fine  chicks,  taken  by  crows  in  an 
afternoon.  After  the  twine  was  strung  there  were  no  more  losses 
from  hawks  or  crows.  The  farm  is  located  near  the  edge  of  the 
woods.  Common  heavy  white  twine  was  used,  stretched  from  tele- 
graph wire  and  placed  about  five  inches  apart  on  the  wire.  The 
whole  was  high  enough  so  that  the  attendant  could  walk  below  it 
to  care  for  the  chicks. 

How  to    Brood   Chicks   in    Brooders. — Brooder   chicks,   no   matter 


Khode  Island  Brood  Coop  for  hen  with  chicks.  Dimensions,  base  2% 
ft.  square,  3  ft.  high  at  peak.  Front  and  door  of  one-half  sash,  6  light. 
(Photo  by  Dr.  Woods.) 


how  hatched,  if  well  cared  for  have  many  advantages  over  those 
that  are  carelessly  brooded  under  hens,  and  it  is  possible  by  careful 
management  to  grow  chicks  in  brooders,  whether  hatched  by  the 
artificial  or  natural  method,  and  still  retain  the  maximum  amount 
of  vitality.  Careful  brooding  can  even  make  up  for  some  of  the 
losses  incurred  in  artificial  incubation,  that  is,  a  properly  brooded 
chick  can  even  make  up  lost  vigor  and  acquire  vitality  when  care- 
fully and  properly  brooded  by  either  the  artificial  or  natural  method. 
Probably  the  best  type  of  brooder  is  the  outdoor,  three-compart- 
ment type  heated  on  the  hot  air  furnace  principle.     Such  a  brooder 


HOW  TO  RAISE  CHICKS 


75 


has  a  constant  supply  of  warm  fresh  air  all  of  the  time  flowing  into 
the  space  beneath  the  hover.  Good  ventilation  and  a  constant  and 
abundant  supply  of  pure,  warm  fresh  air  both  day  and  night  are 
absolutely  essential  to  successful  brooder  chick  rearing.  Circular 
hovers  that  occupy  the  center  of  the  brooding  apartment  are  pref- 
erable to  square  hovers  placed  at  one  side.  The  heat  should  be  a 
combination  of  top,  bottom  and  side  heat.  There  should  be  a  com- 
partment outside  of  the  hover  of  sufficient  size  on  all  sides  so  that 
the  chicks  can  easily  get  out  into  cooler  quarters  whenever  they 
endeavor  to  move  away  from  the  heat.  In  addition  to  this  cooler 
apartment  outside  of  the  hover,  there  should  be  an  exercise  apart- 
ment warmed  by  the  escaping  surplus  heat  from  the  brooding  cham- 
ber proper.  Such  an  outdoor  brooder  m.ay  be  run  in  an  open  front 
shed  or  in  a  curtain  front  house  in  the  winter  time,  and  out  of  doors 
in  spring  and  summer  weather.  I  have  repeatedly  run  individual 
outdoor  brooders  entirely  out  of  doors  without  shelter  of  any  kind 
in    the    most    extreme    winter    weather    with    entirely    satisfactory 


Fig.  4.  Apex  brood  coop,  slatted  chick  run  and  awning  cloth  shelter 
tent.  A  cheap  and  good  home-made  chick  rearing  equipment  for  hen  and 
chicks. 


results.  In  warm  weather  the  brooder  should  be  located  in  a  shel- 
tered or  shady  spot  so  that  the  direct  rays  of  the  hot  summer  sun 
will  not  make  the  interior  of  the  brooder  too  hot  for  comfort. 

Have  your  brooder  running  well,  thoroughly  warmed  up,  and 
maintaining  a  fairly  even  temperature  before  you  place  the  chicks 
in  it.  Litter  the  brooder  compartment  well  with  cut  clover  both 
beneath  and  outside  of  the  hover,  sprinkling  over  it  a  little  sand 
or  fine  grit.  In  three  corners  make  a  little  pile  of  dry  grain  chick 
food  and  a  little  pile  of  fine,  pure  beef  scrap  on  top  of  this  clover 
litter  close  together.  These  should  be  outside  of  the  hover.  In  the 
fourth  corner  place  a  small-sized  galvanized  iron  drinking  fountain 
filled  with  pure,  fresh  water.  The  brooder  is  now  ready  for  the 
chicks,  provided  it  has  been  running  regularly  for  a  day  or  two 
with   a  hover  temperature  of  95  degrees   F.   under  the  hover.     No 


76 


HOW  TO  RAISE  CHICKS 


matter  what  the  brooder  manufacturer  tells  you,  do  not  place  more 
than  50  chicks  in  any  3x3  foot  or  3xG  foot  brooder.  That  is  the 
maximum  limit  of  safety. 

Never  place  any  weaklings  or  puny  chicks  in  the  brooaer.  They 
should  be  promptly  killed,  as  their  presence  in  the  flock  only  invites 
bad  habits  and  through  this  results  in  losses.  Be  sure  to  carry  a 
flame  on  your  brooder  lamp  or  stove  large  enough  to  maintain  the 
proper  temperature  under  the  hover  without  the  necessity  of  keep- 
ing the  ventilators  closed  too  much.  The  ventilator  slides  should 
be  kept  partly  open  all  of  the  time  to  insure  a  good  circulation  of 
pure  air.     When  the  little  chicks  are  put  under  the  hover  the  tern- 


Fig,  5.  Box  l)roofl  roops  and  slatted  runs  for  hens  with  chicks,  the 
whole  yard  protected  by  a  twine  hawk  and  crow  scare  like  that  shown  in 
Fig.  6.     (Photo  by  Dr.' Woods.) 


perature  will  go  up  five  or  ten  degrees  and  no  attempt  should  be 
made  to  lower  it.  as  you  want  a  hover  temperature  of  95  degrees 
with  no  chicks  under  the  hover.  The  warmth  from  the  bodies  of 
the  little  chicks  causes  the  rise  in  temperature  and  you  do  not  want 
to  decrease  the  lamp  heat  on  this  account. 

Watch  your  little  brood  and  be  governed  in  brooder  operation 
more  by  the  comfort  of  the  chicks  themselves  than  by  the  tempera- 
ture indicated  by  the  thermometer.  I  start  my  broods  at  a  tempera- 
ture ranging  from  105  degrees  to  115  degrees  when  the  chicks  are 
under  the  hover  in  cold  weather,  and  from  95  degrees  to  105  degrees 
in  mild  weather,  paying  more  attention  to  the  comfort  of  the  chicks 


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HOW  TO  RAISE  CHICKS 


than  to  the  reading  of  the  thermometer,  but  making  sure  that  they 
are  abundantly  supplied  with  fresh  air  at  all  times. 

Home-Made  Brooder. — One  of  the  simplest,  oldest  and  best  home- 
made brooders  for  use  with  lamp  heat  can  be  made  at  very  small 
cost  by  using  box  boards.  For  the  base  two  pieces  of  board  9  inches 
wide  by  2  feet  10  inches  and  two  pieces  9  inches  wide  by  3  feet 
are  required.     These  are  nailed  together  to  make  the  frame  of  the 


Fig.  7.     Plan  of  home-made  Brooder  Base  with  cut  av.ay  seetlcn  show- 
ing construction  of  hot  air  chamber. 


brooder  base.  To  the  top  edge  of  this  frame  is  tacked  a  sheet  of 
galvanized  or  sheet  iron,  3  feet  by  3  feet.  Above  this  is  nailed  a 
frame  of  1  inch  by  3  inch  stuff,  an  opening  being  left  on  one  side 
3  inches  wide  for  an  air  inlet.  On  top  of  this  frame  is  built  the  floor, 
2  feet  10  inches  square,  of  matched  boards.  A  5-inch  hole  for  the 
heat  flue  is  cut  in  the  middle  of  this  floor.  This  construction  leaves 
a  rabbet  1  inch  wide  around  the  edge  of  the  brooder,  on  which  the 
top  fits.     (See  Fig.  7.) 

A  tin  peach  can  with  both  ends  melted  off  is  used  for  a  heat 
flue,  or  a  galvanized  pipe  5  Inches  in  diameter  and  5  Inches  long 
may  be  used.  This  is  nailed  in  place  in  the  hole  in  middle  of  floor. 
A  cone  of  the  same  material,  3i/^  inches  in  diameter  at  base,  is  hung 
by  wire  hooks  in  upper  part  of  heat  flue  to  serve  as  a  heat  spreader. 
This  cone  is  kept  fllled  with  moist  sand.  Section  view  Fig.  8  shows 
detail  of  brooder  construction  and  also  the  chimneyless  burner  lamp. 
Hover  is  circular  and  is  2  feet  in  diameter  and  has  four  legs  5 
inches  long,  and  a  fringe  of  felt  (double)  414  inches  long  around  the 
edge. 

Complete  brooder  is  shown  in  Fig.   9.     The  lids  are  used  only 


HOW  TO  RAISE  CHICKS 


79 


when  brooder  is  used  out  of  doors  and  are  removable.  There  is  a 
window  5  inches  by  14  inches  in  each  side  and  a  3-inch  ventilating 
hole  at  the  peak  of  each  side.  Ventilating  holes  are  provided  with 
slides.  Front  has  a  glass  window  5  inches  by  16  inches  and  a  door 
7  inches  by  12  inches.  For  details  of  construction  of  top  and  lids 
see  Figs.  8  and  9. 

The  brooder  top  is  simply  a  four-sided  board  frame  made  to  fit 
the  rabbet  around  edge  of  floor  and  is  fitted  with  removable  lids, 
which  form  the  roof.  This  top  is  9  inches  above  the  floor  front  and 
back  and  13  inches  at  peak. 

Lamp  vent  in  base  is  a  2^/^  inch  hole  and  is  protected  on  the 
inside  by  a  wind  shield  made  by  nailing  half-inch  cleats  above  and 
below  the  hole  and  tacking  over  these  a  sheet  of  tin.  A  piece  of 
mica  is  fastened  over  the  opening  in  the  lamp  door  located  in  the 


st/£er 


Fig.  8.     Section  view  of  home-made  brooder. 


rear  end  of  brooder  base.  Brooders  of  this  type  have  been  in  sue 
cessful  use  in  New  Engl&>id  for  thirty  years  or  more.  Some  poultry^ 
men  run  them  in  open  sheds  without  any  brooder  top,  and  when 
more  heat  is  needed  a  second  lamp  is  added  under  the  sheet  iron 
floor. 

In  operation  the  heat  is  regulated  by  the  height  of  the  lamp 
flame,  always  aiming  to  have  it  warm  enough  under  the  hover  so 
that  the  chicks  will  stay  near  the  edge  with  heads  peeping  out  from 
under  the  felts.  Thermometers  are  used  when  starting  the  brooder 
and  before  chicks  are  placed  in  it  the  space  beneath  the  hover  is 
warmed  to  95  or  100  degrees.  After  that  the  thermometer  is  not 
used  and  the  operator  keeps  the  hover  warm  enough  to  drive  the 
chicks  away  from  the  center  flue  to  the  felts  at  the  hover  edge. 
Center  flue  has  a  band  of  heavy  felt  about  it  to  keep  chicks  away 
from  hot  metal.    The  comfort  of  the  chicks  is  the  best  guide  to  the 


80 


HOW  TO  RAISE  CHICKS 


right  amount  of  heat  needed.  Floor  or  brooder  is  kept  covered  with 
clean  sand  and  some  cut  clover  or  hay-mow  chaff.  If  the  brooder 
is  to  be  run  under  a  shelter  the  best  plan  is  to  use  the  sides  of  top 
without  the  lids.  In  place  of  lids  use  a  wooden  frame  covered  with 
wire  screen  and  cotton  cloth. 

Cheese  Box  Fireless  Brooder. — Probably  the  first  fireless  brooder 
was  made  of  mud  and  straw,  rounded  in  the  form  of  a  small  hut  and 
baked  dry  in  the  sun,  for  fireless  brooders  were  undoubtedly  the  first 
used  for  artificial  chick  rearing,  and  that  dates  back  several  hundred 
years  B.  C.  Today  we  have  many  styles  and  shapes  of  fireless 
brooders  made  of  wood  and  metal,  all  of  which  possess  more  or  less 


HisQeD  Lias  jota/ A\ov*,«i.t 


T f 

^,      BASE  ^ 

i     —3'— "^ 


Fig.   9.     Home-made  Brooder  complete. 


merit.  For  the  best  results  ihe  fireless  brooder  is  a  mild  or  warm 
weather  brooder.  When  it  is  used  instead  of  a  heated  brooder,  con- 
siderably more  labor  is  required  to  properly  care  for  the  chicks,  and, 
during  the  first  ten  days,  almost  constant  attention  is  needed.  If 
one  has  sufficient  patience  and  the  time  to  fuss  with  them,  fireless 
brooders  will  raise  good  chicks.  Some  poultrymen,  who  raise  from 
one  to  three  hundred  chicks,  like  this  style  of  brooder  very  much 
for  spring  and  summer  use  and  say  that  they  would  not  return  to 
the  lamp-heated  type. 

One  of  the  cheapest  fireless  brooders  is  that  made  from  a  cheese 
box,  and  it  is  quite  as  good  as  any.  Usually  the  box  can  be  had  for 
the  asking  from  the  corner  grocery;  the  lid  is  not  used.  Fig.  10 
Shows  the  cheese  box  brooder  complete,  with  hover  5tnd  quilt.     Two 


HOW  TO  RAISE  CHICKS 


81 


3-inch  holes,  rounded  at  the  top,  are  cut  in  the  sides  for  the  chicks 
to  run  in  and  out.  These  are  made  close  to  the  floor  of  the  box.  A 
ring  of  telegraph  wire  is  made  to  fit  inside  of  the  box  and  is  covered 
with  coarse  cotton  cloth  to  make  the  hover.  This  cloth  is  put  on 
loosely  with  a  wide  lap  and  when  in  place  bags  down  in  the  center 
to  touch  the  brooder  floor  when  hover  is  in  position.  Three  wire 
nails  are  placed  equal  distances  apart  on  inside  of  box,  three  inches 
from  floor,  and  on  these  the  hover  rings  rests.  When  the  chicks  go 
under  the  hover  the  cloth  rests  on  their  backs. 

The  "quilt"  is  the  only  additional  protection  for  this  brooder  and 
is  made  of  two  circular  pieces  of  cotton  cloth  or  cheese  cloth,  with 


Sins  v/cw 


Fig.  10.     Cheese-box  Tireless  Brooder  snd  x)arts. 


a  loosely  laid  layer  of  wool  or  cotton  batting,  one  inch  thick,  placed 
between  the  cloths  and  the  whole  tufted  as  one  would  tuft  a  quilt. 
This  rests  on  top  of  the  cotton  cloth  hover.  Don't  make  the  quilt 
too  heavy  or  too  thick,  as  in  a  large  measure  the  brooder  is  venti- 
lated through  the  quilt  and  cotton  hover.  It  is  used  simply  to  retain 
a  sufficient  amount  of  the  animal  heat  of  the  chicks  to  keep  them 
comfortable. 

In  operation  this  brooder  is  run  in  a  box  2^^  feet  wide  by  4  feet 
long  and  high  enough  to  take  in  the  cheese  box  and  leave  a  little 
room  above  it.  The  brooder  half  of  the  box  has  a  cotton  cloth  cover 
and  the  other  one  of  wire  netting.  From  25  to  50  chicks  are  started 
in  one  of  these  brooders,  the  larger  flocks  when  the  weather  is  cool 
and  smaller  in  warm  weather.  The  bottom  of  brooder  is  littered 
with  cut  hay  about  one  inch  deep.    At  night,  and  when  resting  or 


82  HOW  TO  RAISE  CHICKS 

warming  up  during  the  day,  the  chicks  are  confined  in  the  cheese  box 
by  stuffing  the  holes  in  the  sides  with  loose  hay.  This  permits  suf- 
ficient ventilation  and  holds  the  heat.  At  first  a  horseshoe-shaped 
yard  of  metal  or  pasteboard,  the  ends  of  which  fit  against  the  outer 
edges  of  the  holes  *'d,  d,"  (Fig.  10)  is  used  to  confine  the  chicks 
close  to  the  brooder  for  a  few  days  until  they  learn  to  use  it.  With 
a  yard  of  this  shape  the  chicks  cannot  huddle  or  crowd  in  corners, 
as  the  only  corners  in  the  yard  open  directly  into  the  space  beneath 
the  hover,  and  any  crowding  or  pushing  lands  them  inside  the 
brooder  beneath  the  hover.  It  requires  a  good  deal  of  care  and 
attention  the  first  week  to  see  that  the  chicks  do  not  stay  outside 
too  long  and  to  teach  them  to  go  inside  the  box  to  warm  up. 

Details  of  Heated  Brooder  Operation. — Locate  your  outdoor  heated 
brooders  on  level  ground  in  the  shade  of  a  tree  or  under  shelter  if 
possible.  Use  wire  chick  runs  in  front.  Face  all  brooders  south. 
Have  them  level  and  see  that  they  fit  down  to  the  ground  on  all 
sides.  Bank  up  on  the  outside  one  inch  with  earth  all  around.  Have 
a  mound  of  earth  and  sod  reaching  up  to  the  chick  door  to  make  a 
little  hill  for  chicks  to  climb  up  and  down  if  your  brooder  is  one 
that  has  the  floor  of  the  exercise  apartment  above  ground  level.  Do 
not  use  a  board  or  other  runway;  an  earth  incline  is  the  only  safe 
plan.  Make  your  wire  run  in  front  of  brooder  so  that  the  ends  con- 
verge toward  the  mound  in  such  a  manner  that  the  chick  door  of 
the  brooder  is  at  the  apex  of  the  triangle  so  formed.  If  you  do  this, 
when  the  chicks  want  to  get  in  or  get  scared  they  have  to  go  into 
the  brooder  because  that  is  the  only  place  where  they  can  stop  when 
they  get  started  for  that  end  of  the  run. 

Have  your  brooders  ready  and  running  properly  a  day  or  so 
before  the  chicks  are  hatched.  Outdoor  brooders  are  a  lot  of  bother, 
but  chick  raising  cannot  be  successfully  accomplished  without  some 
work  of  a  fussy  nature.  For  flocks  of  1,000  chicks  or  under  I  prefer 
the  individual  outdoor  brooders.  Bigger  flocks  on  large  plants 
require  the  hot  water  pipe  house  brooding  system,  the  operation 
of  which  is  an  art  that  has  to  be  learned  by  experience.  The  same 
general,  practical,  commonsense  principles  apply  in  brooder  house 
operation  that  are  necessary  in  the  management  of  individual  brood- 
ers. Running  individual  brooders  out  of  doors  is  disagreeable  work 
in  bad  weather.  You  will  have  to  put  up  with  sprawling  in  the  mud 
and  wet  unless  you  erect  a  shelter  over  each  brooder,  which  is  a 
great  help  toward  keeping  your  disposition  sweet  in  chick  time.  I 
have  been  down  on  my  knees  in  snow  water  and  even  laid  down  in 
it  many  a  time,  with  a  stream  of  ice  cold  water  from  my  hat  brim 
trickling  down  between  my  collar  and  neck,  when  operating  brooders 


HOW  TO  RAISE  CHICKS  83 

out  of  doors  in  winter  time.  The  man  who  enjoys  and  is  busy  with 
chick  rearing  will  not  have  much  time  to  fuss  or  worry  about  slight 
inconveniences  of  this  sort. 

The  temperature  under  hover  should  be  at  95  degrees  F.  with 
hover  empty.  Put  chicks  into  brooder  in  afternoon.  Have  brooder 
well  littered  with  fine  cut  clover  or  with  clean  hay  mow  chaff  or 
sweepings.  Put  in  a  little  chick  grit  and  clean  sand  to  barely  weight 
down  the  clover.  (I  don't  like  alfalfa  for  brooder  litter  if  I  can  get 
anything  else  and  I  prefer  cut  clover  or  hay  mow  chaff  if  clean  and 
sweet.)  Take  out  the  hover  when  you  put  the  chicks  in  and  scatter 
dry  grain  chick  food  on  the  litter  besides  making  two  or  three  little 
piles  of  chick  food  and  beef  scrap  in  the  corners  of  the  brooding 
apartment.  Tapping  on  the  floor  of  the  brooder  with  your  finger 
near  the  piles  of  food  will  usually  start  the  chicks  feeding.  When 
you  have  put  all  the  chicks  in  and  let  them  have  a  chance  at  the 
food,  put  on  the  hover.  Raise  one  or  two  tabs  of  the  felt  curtain 
and  tack  them  to  top  of  hover  to  leave  a  small  opening  in  the  felts 
for  a  door.  These  tabs  should  be  let  down  at  night.  Tuck  the  chicks 
in  under  the  hover  and  close  the  brooder.  Keep  the  entrance  to  the 
exercise  apartment  closed.  Be  sure  that  the  cold  air  tube  or  fresh 
air  inlet  into  space  between  iron  ceiling  or  lamp  chamber  and  wood 
floor  of  brooding  chamber  is  kept  open  all  the  time.  This  is  your 
cold-air  box  of  your  furnace  principle  and  upon  this  inlet  of  fresh 
air  depends  the  supply  of  warm  air  to  keep  the  chicks  comfortable. 
If  your  brooder  has  ventilating  holes  covered  with  galvanized  iron 
slides  at  the  highest  point  of  the  sides  of  the  brooder  near  the  roof, 
run  these  vents  wide  open  on  sunny  or  still  days  even  in  cold  weather. 
In  mild  weather  they  should  be  kept  open  all  the  time.  On  windy 
days  or  at  night  in  cold  weather  one  of  these  vents  on  the  windward 
side  of  the  brooder  may  be  closed.  The  other  should  be  left  wholly 
or  half  open  according  to  the  weather.  Never  close  the  vent  more 
than  one-half,  even  if  the  outside  temperature  goes  down  to  15  or 
20  degrees  below  zero.  You  cannot  heat  and  ventilate  a  brooder 
properly  if  these  ventilating  slides  are  wholly  closed. 

Watch  the  chicks  very  closely  the  first  two  weeks.  You  have 
to  represent  the  natural  hen  mother  and  teach  them  all  they  must 
know  during  this  early  infancy  period.  After  two  weeks,  if  they 
are  properly  trained,  the  chicks  ought  to  take  care  of  themselves 
on  all  ordinary  occasions.  Keep  them  moving.  Never  permit  them 
to  huddle  or  crowd  in  the  sun  or  elsewhere.  If  they  form  this  habit 
of  huddling  they  are  in  a  bad  way  and  losses  will  be  heavy. 

The  first  two  days  keep  the  chicks  confined  in  the  brooder  apart- 
ment around  the  hover  and  tuck  them  under  the  hover  frequently. 


84 


HOW  TO  RAISE  CHICKS 


Keep  pure  water,  grit,  chick  food  and  pure  willow  charcoal,  with  a 
supply  of  fine  sifted,  pure  beef  scrap  and  granulated  raw  bone,  always 
before  them.  Scatter  a  little  dry  grain  chick  food  in  their  litter  once 
in  three  hours  and  remove  the  hover  for  a  few  minutes  to  get  all 
of  the  chicks  out  for  a  chance  at  the  food.  Also  keep  chick  food 
before  the  chicks  all  the  time  in  a  shallow  box  or  pan. 

Air  and  sun  the   interior  of  the  brooder  often.     From  the  first 


View  of  an  outdoor  brooder  with  flock  of  chicks  on  Dr.  Woods'  farm. 
The  picture  was  taken  on  the  21st  of  February,  1905,  temperature  18  de- 
grees above  zero.  Brooder  was  easily  operated  out  of  doors,  although  out- 
door temperature  frequently  fell  to  zero  and  below.  The  chicks  made  re- 
markably fine  growth,  had  well  developed  bodies  and  nice  big  strong  legs. 
(Photo  by  Dr.  Woods.) 


the  hover  should  always  be  removed  for  a  short  space  of  time  dur- 
ing your  visits  to  the  brooders,  taking  care  to  expose  the  under  side 
of  the  hover  for  a  short  time  to  the  sunlight  whenever  possible. 
Never  leave  brooders  while  open  or  with  hover  out  when  chicks 
are  under  ten  days  old.  Stay  near  by  the  brooder  until  you  have 
closed   them   or   replaced   the   hover.      On    warm    days   the    brooder 


HOW  TO  RAISE  CHICKS 


85 


lids  or  large  doors  may  be  left  open,  but  do  not  leave  them  so 
for  long  at  a  time  except  in  summer  when  they  may  be  run  open 
most  of  the  time  on  sunny  days.  Put  the  chicks  under  the  hover 
and  close  the  brooder  at  the  first  sign  of  huddling  or  crowding. 
If  the  chicks  cry  a  great  deal  there  is  something  wrong.  Look  for 
it!  They  should  be  busy,  happy  and  contented,  making  only  a 
happy  little  chirp  as  they  scratch  for  their  food. 

Run  the  hover  space  with  the  hover  empty  at  about  95  degrees 


View  of  an  outdoor  brooder  with  flock  of  chicks  on  Dr.  Woods'  farm. 
The  jiicture  was  taken  on  the  21st  of  February,  1905,  temperature  18  de- 
grees above  zero.  Brooder  was  easily  operated  out  of  doors,  although  out- 
door temperature  frequently  fell  to  zero  and  below.  The  chicks  made  re- 
markably fine  growth,  had  well  developed  bodies  and  nice  big  strong  legs. 
(Photo  by  Dr.  Woods.) 


F,  the  first  week,  then  gradually  drop  to  90  degrees  by  the  end  of 
the  second  week  and  to  85  degrees  by  the  time  the  chicks  are  a 
month  old,  but  always  pay  more  attention  to  the  comfort  of  the 
chicks  than  you  do  to  the  temperature  indicated  by  your  brooder 
thermometer.     Some  flocks  require  more  heat  than  others  and  you 


86  HOW  TO  RAISE  CHICKS 

should  aim  at  all  times  to  keep  the  chicks  comfortable.  A  little 
extra  heat,  105  degrees  to  even  115  degrees  F.  with  all  the  chicks 
under  the  hover,  will  not  hurt  them  if  they  have  an  opportunity  to 
get  away  from  the  heat,  on  all  sides  of  a  circular  hover,  when  they 
desire  to  do  so.  Chilling  the  chicks  may  prove  fatal  and  is  a  com- 
mon cause  of  diarrhoea. 

At  night  if  your  chicks  appear  comfortable  and  are  spread  about 
the  edge  of  the  hover  with  their  heads  out  from  beneath  the  felt, 
do  not  attempt  to  lower  the  temperature  by  changing  the  height  of 
the  lamp  flame,  even  though  the  thermometer  registers  from  100 
degrees  to  110  degrees,  or  on  a  cold  night  is  as  high  as  115  degrees. 
It  is  always  better  to  have  a  surplus  of  heat  than  not  enough.  Bear 
in  mind  also  that  chicks  can  stand  a  great  deal  more  heat  in  cold, 
blustery  weather  than  they  can  when  the  weather  is  warm  and 
muggy. 

By  the  third  day  let  the  chicks  out  into  the  exercise  apartment. 
If  the  brooding  chamber  and  exercise  apartment  are  separated  by 
a  felt  curtain,  pin  up  one  of  the  tabs  to  make  an  open  door.  Let  them 
run  for  a  little  while  only,  then  drive  them  back  and  shut  them  in. 
Repeat  this  often.  Keep  the  food  and  water  in  the  exercise  apart- 
ment after  they  begin  to  make  use  of  this  part  of  the  brooder. 

Usually  by  the  fifth  day  it  will  be  safe  to  let  the  chicks  have 
the  use  of  the  exercise  apartment  at  all  times.  After  they  become 
used  to  running  in  and  out,  the  felt  tab  which  was  raised  should  be 
lowered.  Be  sure  that  all  your  chicks  are  under  the  hover  at  bed- 
time or  are  comfortably  spread  out  with  their  heads  peeping  from 
beneath  the  felts. 

If  at  any  time  after  dark  you  visit  the  brooder  and  find  the 
chicks  are  all  in  under  the  felts  out  of  sight,  you  can  be  certain 
that  there  is  not  a  sufficient  supply  of  surplus  heat  to  last  the  chicks 
until  morning,  and  with  a  falling  outside  temperature  unless  you 
increase  the  lamp  heat  the  chicks  are  almost  certain  to  be  chilled. 

When  chicks  are  from  seven  days  to  two  weeks  old,  according 
to  the  weather  conditions  and  the  development  of  the  little  chicks, 
begin  to  give  a  small  run  outside  the  brooder.  By  this  I  mean  give 
them  an  outdoor  run  summer  or  winter.  In  cold  weather  let  them 
run  on  frozen  ground.  If  there  is  snow,  clear  a  space  in  front  of 
the  brooder  for  an  outdoor  run.  Get  them  outdoors  for  a  few  minutes 
daily  even  if  you  have  to  sprinkle  chaff,  hay  or  straw  on  top  of  the 
snow  to  encourage  them  to  run  out.  In  a  short  time  they  will  be 
eager  for  their  outdoor  play  and  will  run  about  on  the  snow  and 
ice,  growing  strong  and  sturdy  with  large-boned,  sound,  healthy 
bodies  and  big,  strong  legs.     A  good  healthy  chick  always  has  large 


HOW  TO  RAISE  CHICKS  87 

legs,  well  filled  out  in  proportion  to  its  size.  If  your  little  birds  have 
thin!  shrunken  legs  they  will  bear  watching  and  need  better  care. 
Small,  wizened  legs  are  a  danger  signal,  they  mean  low  vitality  and 
trouble  ahead.  Let  them  out  for  only  a  little  while  at  first,  then 
drive  them  back  again  just  as  you  taught  them  to  use  the  exercise 
apartment.  In  a  few  days  they  can  have  the  freedom  of  the  rua 
which  may  be  increased  in  size  daily.  They  will  then  be  smart 
enough  to  look  out  for  themselves.  You  must,  however,  teach  them 
well  at  first  to  avoid  trouble  later. 

Change  your  brooders  to  new  fresh  ground  once  a  month  and 
always  run  the  brooder  on  fresh  ground  for  a  new  flock.  Keep  your 
chicks  in  the  same  brooder  until  they  are  weaned.  Clean  the 
brooder  every  week  and  clean  the  run  every  few  days.  When  chicks 
are  five  to  six  weeks  old,  if  possible,  let  them  have  practically  free 
range  on  grass  land  where  there  is  shade  and  shelter.  Chicks  may 
be  weaned  when  from  six  to  eight  weeks  old  if  they  are  well  fledged. 
A  good  deal  depends  upon  the  size  of  the  chicks  and  the  condition 
of  their  plumage.  Some  will  be  ready  to  go  to  the  colony  coops  when 
six  weeks  old,  others  not  until  they  are  are  eight  to  nine  weeks  old. 
Don't  take  a  lot  of  naked  chicks  away  from  heat  in  cold  weather. 

The  chief  secret  in  little  chick  raising  is  in  getting  them  started 
right.  You  will  find  that,  as  a  rule,  cold  weather  broods  are  easier 
to  teach  and  require  less  patience  than  hot  weather  broods.  Never 
permit  little  chicks  to  huddle  or  crowd  outside  the  brooder  in  the 
sunshine.  If  you  do  allow  them  to  acquire  this  bad  habit  you  will 
find  them  chilled  or  dead  in  that  same  spot  on  some  cold,  stormy 
day. 


88 


HOW  TO  RAISE  CHICKS 


A  practical  outdoor  brooder,  with  chick  run  and  shelter  attached.  The 
husky  httle  early  chicks  have  been  let  out  of  shelter  to  get  the  newly  started 
first  green  grass  of  springtime.      (Photo  by  Dr.  Woods.) 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

Chick  Foods  and  Feeding  Chicks 


^  _SE  GOOD  FOOD  if  you  want  to  grow  good  chicks. 
||l|l     There  are  a  number  of  rations  that  will  grow  good 
LISm     chicks   if  the    chicks    are    born    with    plenty   of 
vitality, — the  power  to  live. 

Corn  meal  dough,  johnny-cake,  oat  meal, 
cracked  wheat,  corn  grits  and  some  commercial 
chick  foods  have  all  been  used  to  grow  good  chicks 
and  when  sweet  and  wholesome,  with  some  sup- 
plementary food  used  for  variety  and  plenty  of 
fresh  succulent  green  food  and  abundance  of 
worms  and  insects  available,  will  yield  good  re- 
sults. For  general  use  I  prefer  to  feed  a  good 
mixed  chick  food,  one  that  is  fresh  ground  from 
sound  sweet  grains. 

Chick  Foods. — The  best  chick  food  I  have  ever  used  and  the  one 
1  prefer  to  all  others  is  a  home-made  chick  food  ground  in  a  common 
iron  grinding  mill,  having  steel  burrs,  and  freshly  made  at  home  as 
needed.  Small  grinding  mills  in  small  sizes  cost  from  $5  to  $8 
each  and  a  larger  size  for  power  can  be  had  as  low  as  $25.  Such 
mills  are  mighty  handy  to  have,  even  on  a  small  poultry  plant, 
will  last  almost  a  lifetime  and  are  no  harder  to  run  than  a  coffee 
mill  of  the  same  size.  A  second  hand  coffee  mill,  if  the  burrs  are 
not  too  badly  worn,  will  do  the  work  well  and  can  usually  be  had 
cheap.     The  following  formula  will  make  an  excellent  chick  food: 

Sound,  hard,   yellow   corn 4  measures 

Sound,  whole    wheat 3  measures 

Heavy,  clipped,    white    oats 2  measures 

Sound,  heavy   barley 1  measure 

Mix  and  grind  together  into  a  chick  food  that  will  be  about  as 
coarse  as  ground  coffee.  This  mixture  when  ground  will  contain  a 
considerable  amount  of  fine  meal.  If  the  chicks  are  trough  or  hopper 
fed  the  meal  need  not  be  sifted  out  and  the  chicks  will  eat  it  readily. 
If  chick  food  is  wanted  for  litter  feeding  or  to  use  in  an  automatic 
feeder  it  is  better  to  sift  out  the  meal  so  that  it  will  not  be  wasted. 
This  can  be  easily  done  when  grinding  by  fitting  a  sieve  made  of 


90  HOW  TO  RAISE  CHICKS 

mosquito  netting  at  a  fairly  sharp  incline  from  the  outlet  of  the  mill 
and  placing  one  box  at  the  end  of  the  sieve  and  another  beneath  the 
sieve.  The  food  sifts  itself  as  it  runs  down  the  inclined  screen.  Meal 
so  sifted  out  can  be  hopper  fed  to  chicks  after  mixing  it  with  an 
equal  bulk  of  wheat  bran.  Do  not  grind  more  than  a  week's  supply 
at  one  time  as  it  makes  a  better  food  when  freshly  ground.  (See 
formula  for  home  made  chick  food  under  '"Feeding  the  Chicks,"  page 
94  in  this  chapter.) 

Another  good  chick  food  that  can  be  mixed  at  home  is  the  fol- 
lowing: 

Corn  grits,  or  sifted  fine  cracked  corn 45       pounds 

Clean,  sound  cracked  wheat 20       pounds 

Steel-cut  oat  meal,   "C   grade 20       pounds 

Cracked  barley,  hulls  sifted  out 12 1^  pounds 

Chick  size  poultry  charcoal Vz  pound 

Granulated,  dry,   raw  bone 1       pound 

Coarse  sand  or  chick  size  grit 1       pound 

Just  a  few  words  about  commercial  chick  foods.  There  are  a 
number  of  excellent  chick  foods  on  the  market,  but  most  of  them 
contain  too  much  millet.  If  you  can  get  the  chick  food  without  millet 
you  will  have  a  much  better  food  for  every  day  use.  Chicks  like 
millet  and  a  very  little  of  it  may  do  no  harm  but  too  much  of  it  is 
likely  to  prove  injurious  and  causes  indigestion,  bowel  trouble  and 
loss  of  chicks.  Some  kinds  of  so-called  millet  found  in  some  com- 
mercial foods  are  not  relished  by  the  chicks  and  if  eaten  cause 
indigestion.  Dangerous  weed  seeds  and  other  products  of  cheap 
screenings  are  frequently  found  in  chick  foods  and  these  are  not 
only  unfit  for  feeding  but  usually  result  in  starting  a  crop  of  many 
foul  weeds  all  over  the  land  used  for  growing  the  chicks. 

Care  should  be  taken  in  buying  even  the  best  chick  foods  to 
make  sure  that  you  obtain  a  fresh-made,  pure,  sweet  article  that  is 
free  from  mouldy  or  musty  grain.  Cracked  grain  loses  something  in 
feeding  value  as  it  ages  and  it  is  more  liable  to  spoil  than  whole 
grain.  Never  use  any  chick  food  that  smells  musty  or  mouldy  or 
that  has  been  stored  in  a  warehouse  for  from  six  months  to  a  year. 
Buy  only  freshly  prepared  chick  food  that  is  sweet,  clean  and  bright. 
Insist  on  seeing  a  sample  before  buying  and  do  not  accept  goods 
that  are  not  equal  to  sample  in  quality.  Cheap,  spoiled,  old  or  dam- 
aged food  may  kill  your  chicks.  Don't  take  any  chances  with  poor 
food. 

Growing  Foods. — Chick  food  must  be  supplemented  with  other 
foods  and  as  the  chicks  grow  it  should  gradually  give  way  to  some 
sort  of  growing  food.     Generally  by  the  time  chicks  are  from  three 


HOW  TO  RAISE  CHICKS  91 

weeks  to  one  month  old  they  will  do  very  well  on  any  good  ration 
suitable  for  laying  fowl  if  cracked  corn  is  substituted  for  whole  corn. 
A  good  growing  food  which  can  be  used  to  gradually  take  the  place 
of  chick  food  is  the  following: 

Sifted    cracked    corn 40  pounds 

Whole  wheat   (red  or  amber) 30  pounds 

Kafir   corn 10  pounds 

Clean  wheat  screenings 10  pounds 

Hulled  oats 10  pounds 

In  addition  to  the  above  an  excellent  dry  mash  mixture  for  grow- 
ing chicks  is  the  following: 

Whole  corn 50  pounds 

Whole    wheat 18  pounds 

Heavy    white    oats 16  pounds 

Heavy   barley 16  pounds 

Mix  all  together  and  have  your  miller  grind  them  to  flour  fine- 
ness. Use  only  sound  sweet  grains.  Keep  the  ground  mixture  before 
chicks  in  same  manner  as  any  dry  mash  fed  from  a  hopper.  Add  one- 
half  pound  of  table  salt  to  100  pounds  of  the  ground  mixture  and 
mix  in  thoroughly. 

Forcing  Food  Mash. — For  market  chicks  after  they  are  six  weeks 
old,  in  addition  to  their  cracked  corn  and  green  food,  the  following 
forcing  mash  is  excellent.  It  may  be  fed  dry  if  desired  but  best 
and  quickest  results  are  to  be  had  by  mixing  it  into  a  crumbly  moist 
mash  with  skim  milk  or  cold  water.     Here  is  the  formula: 

Best  yellow  corn  meal 50  pounds 

Low  grade  wheat  flour 10  pounds 

Wheat   bran 20  pounds 

*First  quality  clover  or  alfalfa  meal 10  pounds 

Best  meat  meal  or  blood  meal 10  pounds 

Best  fish  scrap 10  pounds 

*If  chickens  are  running  on  a  green  range  or  can  have  plenty  of 
raw  green  food,  omit  the  clover  or  alfalfa  meal.  If  there  is  any 
looseness  of  the  bowels  reduce  the  amount  of  beef  scrap  and  increase 
the  quantity  of  low  grade  flour.  Add  one-half  pound  of  table  salt  to 
the  100  pounds  of  ground  grain  mixture  and  mix  in  thoroughly. 

Animal  Foods. — The  best  animal  foods  for  growing  chicks  are 
the  worms,  bugs,  grasshoppers  and  other  insects  that  they  get  on 
open  range. 

Fresh  flsh,  well  scalded  or  boiled  before  feeding  is  an  excellent 
form  of  animal  food  for  chicks  of  all  ages  and  it  has  the  great  advan- 
tage of  being  easily  digested.  It  rarely  causes  indigestion  or  diar- 
rhoea, even  when  too  freely  fed.     Use  only  good  fresh  fish.     Spoiled 


92  Plow  TO  RAISE  CHICKS 

fish  is  dangerous  and  if  fed  may  cause  losses.  Nothing  will  make 
chicks  grow  and  develop  bone  and  muscle  like  well-scalded  fresh  fish, 
fed  bones  and  all,  either  in  a  mash  or  plain.  I  fed  my  White  Plymouth 
Rock  chickens  quantities  of  yellow  perch,  chubs,  herring  and  other 
easily  obtained  cheap  fish  during  spring  of  1911  with  excellent  results; 
they  cleaned  them  up,  bones  and  all. 

Fish  scrap,  if  made  from  fresh  wholesome  fish,  is  an  excellent 
addition  to  mashes,  but  it  is  difficult  to  obtain  a  dependable  supply 
of  desirable  quality.  It  contains  a  large  proportion  of  fish  bone. 
This  fish  scrap  is  a  by-product  in  manufacture  of  fish  glue.  Don't 
buy  much  fish  scrap  at  a  time  and  test  it  well  before  you  feed  much 
of  it. 

Meat,  either  fresh  and  raw  or  cooked,  is  a  good  food  to  feed 
sparingly  to  chicks. 

Beef  scrap,  meat  meal,  blood  meal  and  other  similar  prepared 
meat  foods  will  serve  as  substitutes  for  insect  life  but  you  must  be 
careful  to  get  a  good  quality.  See  remarks  on  beef  scrap  in  Chapter 
IV.  Feed  sparingly  to  chicks  at  first  if  you  have  not  used  the  scrap 
before.    It  is  always  well  to  go  slow  at  first  with  a  new  lot. 

Sweet  milk  is  excellent  for  small  chicks  of  all  ages.  It  should 
be  given  in  fountains  that  will  not  permit  the  chicks  to  get  them- 
selves all  smeared  up  with  the  milk.  Give  milk  for  drinking  pur- 
poses in  earthen  founts,  give  only  a  small  amount  at  a  time  and 
keep  the  fountain  clean.  If  the  milk  "scours"  the  chicks,  it  should 
be  scalded  before  feeding  and  given  less  frequently.  Use  sweet  milk 
for  mixing  moist  mashes  when  it  ca^i  be  had  cheaply. 

Sour  milk  Is  a  good  drink  for  weaned  chicks  and  adult  stock. 
I  do  not  like  it  for  small  chicks.  Where  both  sweet  and  sour  milk 
are  to  be  used,  don't  alternate  them.  Either  feed  the  milk  always 
sweet  or  always  sour.  Feeding  sweet  milk  at  one  time  and  sour 
milk  another  is  apt  to  start  troublesome  diarrhoea.  The  best  way 
to  use  sour  milk  for  young  chicks  is  to  heat  it  until  the  curd  separates 
from  the  whey.  Salt  the  curd  just  a  little  and  squeeze  it  dry;  the 
cheese  so  made  is  excellent  for  chicks  of  all  ages.  I  sometimes  add 
a  little  black  pepper  to  the  curd  cheese. 

Scalded  sweet  milk  thickened  with  boiled  bread  flour,  and  sea- 
soned lightly  with  nutmeg  and  ginger,  is  excellent  for  small  chicks 
to  remedy  diarrhceal  troubles. 

Eggs  are  good  for  small  chicks  but  should  not  be  fed  too  freely. 
The  white  of  a  fresh  egg  stirred  up  raw  with  a  little  scalded  milk, 
cooled  before  mixing,  will  help  in  cases  of  diarrhoea.  Infertile,  tested 
out,  eggs  should  be  hard  boiled  before  feeding  to  chicks.  Keep 
such  eggs  at  the  boiling  point  for  fully  ten  minutes. 


HOW  TO  RAISE  CHICKS  93 

Green  Foods. — For  small  chicks  there  is  nothing  better  as  a 
source  of  green  food  supply  than  a  good  grass  or  clover  range.  Clip- 
pings from  oat  sprouts  are  excellent.  Fresh  cut,  i/4-inch  lengths  of 
lawn  grass,  and  white  or  red  clover  leaves  are  good.  Raw  potatoes, 
cut  in  chunks  for  chicks  to  pick  at  or  ground  fine  in  a  vegetable 
chopper  are  fine  vegetable  food  for  young  chicks  at  any  age.  Cab- 
bage, lettuce,  onions  and  other  raw  greens  are  all  good  when  prop- 
erly fed.     Live  raw  food  is  necessary  to  health  and  growth. 

Fresh  cut,  finely  chopped  dandelion  leaves  are  excellent  green 
food  for  young  chicks,  especially  where  there  is  any  tendency  to 
diarrhoea.     Dandelions   may   be   fed   freely. 

Other  variety  and  supplementary  foods  for  small  chicks  will  be 
taken  up  under  feeding. 

Mineral  Foods  for  Small  Chicks. — Little  chicks  as  well  as  fowls 
need  more  mineral  food  than  they  get  in  grains,  grasses  and  animal 
foods  that  are  fed.  If  they  get  an  outdoor  run  where  they  can  eat 
earth,  sand  and  gravel  and  are  supplied  with  fine  oyster  shells,  a 
good  gravel  grit,  and  kiln  dried  granulated  raw  bone  they  will  gen- 
erally get  along  very  well.  See  under  heading  "Mineral  Foods"  in 
Chapter  VI  and  the  white  diarrhoea  remedy  in  Chapter  X.  Hard  coal 
ashes  are  good  for  chicks. 

Feeding  the  Chicks. — Small  chickens  are  creatures  of  habit.  You 
cannot  be  too  careful  how  you  feed  and  train  them  at  the  start.  If 
they  are  permitted  to  begin  eating  too  much  sand,  grit,  paper  and 
felt  or  acquire  other  similar  bad  habits,  you  will  find  it  almost  impos- 
sible to  break  them  of  it.  For  this  reason  be  careful  to  teach  them 
to  eat  only  wholesome  food  at  the  start. 

With  hen-hatched,  hen-brooded  chicks  you  will  not  have  much 
trouble  getting  them  started  right  if  you  confine  the  hen  and  let 
the  chicks  run  outside  her  coop,  gradually  giving  them  more  range 
as  they  need  it.  Simply  supply  the  hen  with  her  ration,  and  drink- 
ing water  where  she  can  reach  it,  and  place  the  food  for  the  chicks 
just  out  of  her  reach  after  the  first  few  days.  For  the  first  day 
or  two  you  should  let  her  have  the  chick  food  where  she  can  call 
the  chicks  to  eat  it;  after  she  has  them  started  right  don't  waste 
chick  food  by  feeding  it  to  the  mother  hen,  give  her  whole  corn  and 
wheat. 

With  brooder  chicks  have  the  floor  of  the  brooder  well  littered 
with  cut  clover  or  hay  mow  chaff.  On  this  sprinkle  a  little  coarse 
sand  or  chick  size  grit.  Provide  a  drinking  fountain  containing  fresh 
water.  Make  a  small  pile  of  chick  food  and  another  of  beef  scrap 
in  each  corner  of  brooder,  except  that  occupied  by  drinking  fountain. 

Chicks  will  not  be  ready  to  be  fed  until  they  have  had  rest  and 


94  HOW  TO  RAISE  CHICKS 

warmth  for  some  hours  after  hatching.  Usually  they  will  begin  to 
cry  for  food  when  they  are  from  twenty-four  to  thirty-six  hours  out 
of  the  shell.  When  the  "hungry  cry"  becomes  insistent  the  chicks 
are  ready  to  go  to  brooder  or  brood  coop.  It  is  well  to  give  each 
chick  a  drink  of  water  by  dipping  its  bill  before  you  place  it  in 
brood  coop  or  brooder.  Attract  attention  of  brooder  chicks  to  their 
food  by  tapping  finger  on  floor  near  the  small  piles  of  food.  See 
detail  of  care  for  first  week  in  Chapter  VII. 

Try  to  keep  the  chicks  comfortable,  contented  and  happy;  that 
is  the  secret  of  successful  chick  rearing,  and  to  learn  how  one  needs 
to  study  and  understand  the  chicks.  They  need  to  be  kept  com- 
fortably warm,  clean  and  well  supplied  with  fresh  air.  They  require 
a  variety  of  wholesome  food  and  a  constant  supply  of  pure  drinking 
water,  grit,  dry  granulated  bone  or  bone  meal,  and  charcoal.  They 
should  be  given  an  opportunity  to  exercise,  and  for  this  purpose  a 
well  sanded  floor  covered  with  cut  clover  hay  is  the  best.  Alfalfa 
will  serve  if  it  is  not  too  dusty,  but  I  don't  like  the  average  very 
dusty  commercial  article  for  small  chicks.  Feed  a  little  of  the  chick 
food  and  a  small  amount  of  beef  scrap  daily  in  this  litter  to  encour- 
age exercise. 

A  good  home-made  chick  food  for  starting  baby  chicks,  and  one 
that  has  always  given  good  results,  can  be  ground  in  any  iron  coffee 
mill  and  made  fresh  as  needed.  Cracked  or  ground  grain  loses  some 
in  value  if  kept  overlong,  and  if  kept  in  a  damp  place  or  during  hot, 
humid  weather,  spoils  quickly.  The  formula  for  this  chick  food  is 
equal  parts  by  measure  corn,  barley  and  wheat,  ground  to  a  very 
coarse  meal  and  to  which  is  added  one  part  of  rolled  oats.  For  the 
first  week  alternated  with  a  little  oven-dried  bread  or  cracker  crumbs, 
rubbed  up  with  hard-boiled  egg,  this  food  gives  excellent  results. 
After  the  first  week  grind  it  a  little  coarser  and  add  some  chick  size 
corn  grits.  Commercial  chick  food  may  be  fed  to  supplement  the 
ration,  but  preferably  should  be  free  from  millet.  Feed  scrap  in  the 
litter  at  first  and  afterwards  mix  with  wheat  bran  and  feed  from  a 
box  hopper. 

The  dry  grain  chick  food  ration  should  be  supplemented  by 
occasional  feedings  of  cooked  wheat  or  cracked  rice.  The  wheat  or 
rice  should  be  thoroughly  well  boiled  in  water  lightly  seasoned  with 
salt,  taking  care  not  to  mash  the  grains  up  too  much.  Cook  until 
thoroughly  soft  and  most  of  the  water  is  evaporated.  This  cooked 
grain  may  be  fed  slightly  warm  or  cold  and  is  greatly  relished  as  a 
supplementary  or  variety  food.  Sprinkle  a  little  raw  bone  meal  or 
granulated  raw  bone  over  this  cooked  food  just  before  feeding.  Feed 
one  meal  two  or  three  times  a  week  until  the  chicks  are  well  started. 


HOW  TO  RAISE  CHICKS  95 

Hard  boiled  infertile  eggs  may  also  be  given  as  supplementary  food, 
simply  cutting  the  boiled  egg  in  halves  and  leaving  it  in  the  brooder 
for  the  chicks  to  pick  at  shell  and  all.  One  egg  is  sufficient  for  25 
small  chicks. 

Be  just  a  little  careful  in  feeding  green  food.  The  best  form  of 
vegetable  food  for  winter  chicks  is  a  daily  supply  of  raw  potatoes 
cut  in  large  chunks,  raw  apples,  beets,  or  mangels.  These  they  will 
eat  eagerly  but  they  should  be  given  no  more  daily  than  they  will 
clean  up  in  a  few  hours.  As  they  grow  older  they  may  be  given 
scalded  cut  clover,  fresh,  green  cut  rye,  and  any  form  of  fresh,  suc- 
culent, wholesome  green  food  that  may  be  available.  Lettuce  should 
be  fed  carefully  at  first,  as  it  sometimes  upsets  the  chicks.  Onions 
should  be  fed  very  sparingly.  In  feeding  cabbage  never  feed  any  that 
have  been  frozen,  as  frozen  vegetables  are  liable  to  cause  diarrhoea  in 
small  chicks.  In  summer  time  the  ideal  way  to  supply  green  food  is 
to  provide  a  good  grass  range  on  which  there  is  plenty  of  white  and 
red  clover. 

By  the  time  the  chicks  are  from  one  week  to  ten  days  old  begin 
substituting  for  a  portion  of  the  chick  food,  fine  sifted  cracked  corn 
or  corn  grits;  some  clean,  best  quality  wheat  screenings,  and  small- 
grained,  hard  red  or  amber  wheat;  or  gradually  substitute  the  grow- 
ing food  given  in  this  chapter.  Gradually  work  them  away  from  the 
expensive  chick  food  on  to  a  ration  of  largely  fine-cracked  corn,  wheat 
and  beef  scrap.  Waste  cereal  from  the  home  table  is  excellent  for  a 
variety  food,  and  cooked  potatoes  will  prove  an  agreeable  change 
from  raw  ones.  When  three  weeks  old  they  can  usually  begin  to  take 
a  part  of  the  regular  ration  for  laying  fowls,  but  the  change  should 
not  be  made  abruptly.  In  making  any  considerable  change  in  a  ration 
it  is  usually  best  to  gradually  reduce  the  amount  of  the  old  food  and 
increase  the  proportion  of  the  new  a  little  each  day  until  the  change 
is  effected. 

Keep  the  quarters  reasonably  clean  and  try  to  keep  the  chicks 
always  busy  and  with  keen  appetites.  Don't  allow  the  chicks  to  be- 
come lousy.  No  matter  how  you  brood  them,  make  it  a  point  the  first 
day  or  two  to  see  that  the  chicks  learn  to  drink  and  to  eat  what  is 
good  for  them.  Some  very  successful  growers  give  each  chick,  when 
placed  in  brood  coop  or  brooder,  a  little  drink  of  water  by  dipping 
its  bill.  The  attention  of  brooder  chicks  can  be  attracted  to  food  by 
tapping  the  floor  near  it  with  your  finger.  Don't  neglect  the  chick's 
education  by  failing  to  teach  it  how  and  where  to  warm  up  and  what 
and  how  to  eat  and  drink  the  first  day  or  two.  Example  and  habit 
has  a  great  influence  on  whatever  mentality  the  chick  possesses,  and 
generally,  if  they  contract  bad  habits  of  crowding  in  places  where 


96 


HOW  TO  RAISE  CHICKS 


they  can  become  chilled  or  of  eating  matter  foreign  to  a  normal  ap- 
petite, it  is,  if  the  chicks  were  well  born,  the  result  of  neglecting  early 
lessons. 


An  early  summer  scene  in  a  Ehode  Island  hay  field  on  a  practical 
poultry  plant.  Here  the  chicks  and  brood  hens  have  tiny  houses  placed  along 
the  roadway  leading  through  the  field  to  the  barn,  giving  an  ideal  range 
for  the  small  chicks.  Tlie  brood  hens  are  tethered  by  a  string  fastened  to 
the  coop  at  one  end  and  to  the  hen's  leg  at  the  other.  (Photo  by  Dr. 
Woods.) 


CHAPTER  IX 

Growing  Chicks 


EN  REARED  CHICKS  should  run  with  the  hen  until 
she  is  ready  to  wean  them.  Brooder  chicks  will  be 
ready  to  wean  when  from  six  to  eight  weeks  old, 
according  to  the  development  of  the  chicks  and  the 
season  of  the  year.  Let  the  comfort  of  the  chicks 
be  your  guide  at  weaning  time  as  at  all  other  times 
during  the  chicks'  life.  If  they  are  well  feathered, 
well  developed,  and  disposed  to  seek  the  coolest 
part  of  brood  coop  or  brooder  for  sleeping  quarters 
they  are  ready  to  wean. 

Sometimes  a  hen  will  leave  her  brood  too  soon 
for  the  season  of  the  year,  and  in  order  to  make 
the  little  chicks  comfortable  on  cool  days  and  cold 
nights  it  will  be  necessary  to  provide  a  hover  for  them  in  their  brood 
box  or  to  place  a  jug  of  hot  water,  wrapped  in  flannel,  where  they  can 
cuddle  around  it  to  warm  up.  A  board  hover,  with  felt  or  cloth  tabs 
beneath,  built  on  legs  about  six  inches  high  to  keep  the  felt  well 
above  the  litter,  will  prove  useful  for  cold  weather  weaning.  Or  a 
burlap  bran  sack  tacked  to  a  wooden  frame,  a  little  smaller  than  the 
bag  so  that  it  will  be  slack  and  hang  down  in  the  middle,  makes  a 
good  hover  frame  to  use  in  brood  coops.  It  can  be  placed  on  cleats 
or  made  with  short  legs. 

Weaning  should  be  a  gradual  process.  Little  chicks  need  to  be 
kept  comfortably  warm  until  well  feathered  out.  Usually  chicks  that 
are  brooded  under  hens  are  weaned  gradually.  Brooder  chicks  should, 
as  they  approach  weaning  time,  be  given  less  and  less  heat  until  they 
are  ready  to  go  without  any  heat  except  that  supplied  by  their  own 
bodies.  If  chicks  have  been  reared  in  tireless  brooders,  weaning  is 
easy.  If  reared  in  heated  brooders  they  must  be  gradually  "hardened" 
until  they  become  accustomed  to  doing  without  artificial  heat. 

Chilling  at  weaning  time  may  mean  a  serious  setback.  Faulty 
care  and  errors  in  management — failure  to  keep  the  chicks  comforta- 
ble and  well  fed — may  cause  a  check  in  growth  or  so  stunt  the  chick 
that  it  does  not  recover  from  it  and  becomes  a  source  of  loss  instead 
of  profit. 

Chicks  should  be  kept  growing  all  the  time;  there  should  be  n(> 

97 


98  HOW  TO  RAISE  CHICKS 

standing  still  periods  in  which  the  chick  does  not  appear  to  grow 
at  all.  V/ith  a  healthy  chick  development  should  be  continuous  and 
rapid — you  should  be  able  to  almost  "see  it  grow." 

If  the  weather  is  cool,  do  not  be  in  a  hurry  to  move  the  chicks 
from  brooders  or  brood  boxes.  It  is  easier  to  keep  them  comfortable 
in  small  brood  boxes  than  in  larger  coops  or  colony  houses.  A  good 
many  promising  broods  have  been  practically  ruined  by  moving  them 
too  soon  to  colony  houses,  but  use  a  little  judgment  in  this  matter, 
for  you  can  ruin  a  flock  by  keeping  it  confined  too  long  in  small  over- 
crowded quarters. 

When  the  chicks  are  well  grown  and  well  feathered,  if  the  weather 
is  sufficiently  mild,  move  them  into  small  colony  coops  or  "A"  shaped 
growing  houses.  (See  illustrations.)  Houses  of  the  semi-open  or 
open-front  type  are  best,  and  they  should  be  so  constructed  that  there 
will  be  no  floor  drafts.  Houses  with  wooden  floors,  well  littered  with 
chaff  or  cut  soft  straw,  are  best  for  cold  weather.  Use  dry  sand  on 
floors  in  warm  weather.     Keep  such  houses  reasonably  clean. 

Weights  of  Growing  Chicks. — No  one  has  yet  figured  out  a  de- 
pendable weight  table  that  will  serve  as  a  standard  for  normal  rapid 
growth  in  young  chicks  in  all  varieties.  Flocks  will  vary  according  to 
season  and  conditions  under  which  the  chicks  are  kept.  Some  varie- 
ties develop  more  quickly  than  others.  Under  favorable  conditions  a 
normal  chick  when  ten  days  old  ought  to  weigh  twice  as  much  as  it 
did  when  hatched.  Usually  there  is  no  gain  in  weight  during  the  first 
four  days  of  the  chick's  life,  so  that  at  first  there  may  be  said  to  be  a 
period  of  standing  still  preparing  for  the  start.  After  that  the  growtli 
should  be  constant.  By  the  time  the  chick  is  three  weeks  old  it 
should  have  doubled  its  ten-day-old  weight.  At  two  months  old  it 
£*iould  weigh  twice  as  much  as  it  did  at  three  weeks.  It  can  be  made 
to  double  in  weight  again  by  the  time  it  is  four  months  old,  and  with 
heavy  varieties  you  can  add  about  a  pound  weight  each  month  until 
the  bird  is  full  grown  for  the  variety.  Such  an  increase  will  admit  of 
reaching  a  normal,  healthy  maturity  at  from  seven  to  ten  months  old. 
By  confining  the  birds  and  feeding  a  forcing  ration  you  can  get  much 
more  rapid  growth  with  chicks  intended  for  market  and  can  attain 
maximum  heavy  weights  in  from  22  to  28  weeks  from  the  shell.  Illus- 
tration in  this  chapter  shows  a  flock  of  White  Wyandotte  chicks  in- 
tended for  breeders,  a  few  of  which  made  the  remarkable  weights  of 
2y2  and  3  pounds  each  at  ten  weeks  old.     (Photo  by  author,  1903.) 

Colony  Coops  and  Range. — Colony  coops  located  in  an  orchard  or 
on  a  well-grassed,  well-shaded  range  make  the  best  homes  for  grow- 
ing chicks.  They  need  plenty  of  fresh  air,  plenty  of  sunshine,  green 
grass,  clover  or  newly  sprouted   grain,   and  an  abundance    of    good 


HOW  TO  RAISE  CHICKS  99 

wholesome  food  in  variety.  Growing  chicks  require  large  quantities 
of  tresh.  raw,  succulent  green  food.  It  is  essential  to  life,  health  and 
good  growth.  Where  they  are  grown  on  bare  runs  they  should  be  sun- 
plied  daily  with  plenty  of  cut  grass,  clover,  oat  sprouts,  cabbage,  raw- 
potatoes  or  other  greens  and  vegetables. 

Shade  is  important  in  hot  weather.  Sufficient  sunshine  for  health 
IS  necessary  and  a  very  important  factor  in  successful  chick  growing 
but  too  much  hot  sun  with  no  suitable  shelter  to  run  to  is  fataT 
Orchard  trees,  berry  bushes  and  shrubbery  afford  excellent  shade  If 
these  are  not  to  be  had,  shelters  of  some  sort  must  be  provided  Low 
tents  made  of  burlap,  old  canvas,  awning  cloth,  or  cheap  heavy  cotton 
Cloth  will  make  good  shelters.  Board  lean-tos  will  serve.  Evergreen 
trees  like  spruces  and  pines  afford  fine  shade,  and  pine  boughs  can 


Cheap  colony  house,  for  growing  chicks,  6  ft.  wide  bv  3  ft  deen  q  ft 
h^h  m  front  and  2  ft.  high  in  bick;  provided  with  cotton  eu^a ins  U,' 
to  Ixce;7$5""*  "  '*"'"^  "^^*'^""-     ^""'^  -^P  --  b^  built'at  a  c^os^n^t 


be  used  to  advantage  in  making  chick  shelters.  Tall  growing  corn 
and  even  tall  weeds,  give  grateful  shelter  from  the  hot  summer  sun.' 
A  held  of  corn  after  it  is  a  few  feet  high,  makes  a  fine  summer  range 
for  growing  chicks.  ^ 

c  ^;;^'^-f^^'  ^^^^ters  are  essential  to  life  and  health  and  to  good 
^th.  Most  Of  the  colony  chick  coops  are  provided  with  partly  open 
fronts;  don  t  use  one  with  a  tight  front.  Shutting  chicks  up  in  snug 
close  stifling  coops  often  results  in  heavy  losses.  Fresh,  pure  air  to 
breathe  is  needed  even  more  at  night  than  during  the  day 

Probably  the  best  small  colony  house  for  growing  chicks  is  the 
partly  open-front  box  coop  6  ft.  long,  3  ft.  deep,  3  ft.  high  in  front  and 

scrl.n   f  '?  '  ^^'^'""^  ^   '^^^  "°°^'  ^'^"^  f^^^t  ^^d   cotton  cloth 

screens  to  close  in  front  in  stormy  weather.    Such  houses  can  be  had 


100 


HOW  TO  RAISE  CHICKS 


at  various  prices  up  to  as  high  as  $14  each,  but  a  New  England  box 
factory  is  manufacturing  such  houses  in  quantity  for  poultrymen  at 
prices  that  do  not  exceed  $5  for  each  house. 

The  Woods  open-front  house,  built  on  skids  and  supplied  with  a 
wooden  floor,  makes  a  good  house  for  growing  stock.  For  a  small 
portable  house  it  can  be  built  as  small  as  6  ft.  wide  by  10  ft.  deep  and 
6  ft.  high  at  peak.     The  Woods  house  is  described  in  book  "Open-Air 


White  Wyandotte  chicks  grown  for  breeding  stock.  Tliese  birds  at- 
tained weights  from  21^  to  3  pounds  each  at  ten  weeks  old.  (Photo  by  Dr. 
Woods.) 


Poultry  Houses,"  published  by  American  Poultry  Journal  Publishing 
Co.,  Chicago,  111. 

Colony  houses  with  "A"  shaped  roofs,  built  with  roof  starting 
close  to  floor,  can  be  cheaply  built  and  make  excellent  quarters  for 
growing  stock.     Illustrations  show  two  of  these  houses. 

In  housing  chicks  give  them  plenty  of  room.  Always  provide  open- 
front  quarters.  Small  flocks,  as  a  rule,  do  best.  Don't  crowd  their 
sleeping  quarters  and  don't  shut  them  up  closely  at  night.     Protect 


HOW  TO  RAISE  CHICKS 


101 


the  house  against  foxes,  skunks  and  other  "varmints"  by  a  good 
strong  fine  mesh-wire  screen  and  let  the  sleeping  birds  have  an 
abundance  of  fresh  air. 

Don't  be  in  a  hurry  to  supply  chicks  with  roosts.  When  they  are 
about  three-fourths  grown  and  begin  to  look  about  for  roosts  will  be 
time  enough.  Late  in  summer  or  early  in  fall,  six  weeks  or  so  before 
you  intend  to  move  the  birds  to  winter  quarters,  they  should  be  pro- 


Cheap  "A"  shaped  colony  house,  fresh-air  type,  used  for  growing 
chicks  and  for  small  breeding  pens  or  for  flocks  of  market  chickens. 
(Photo  by  Dr.  Woods.) 

vided  with  roosts  so  that  they  will  learn  to  use  them  by  the  time  you 
are  ready  to  house  them  for  winter. 

Protection  from  Hawks  and  Crows. — Where  growing  chicks  have 
wide  range,  hawks  and  crows  are  often  very  troublesome,  particu- 
larly during  the  breeding  season,  for  these  marauding  birds.  Crows 
will  often  hide  in  pines  or  spruces  near  the  chick  runs,  or  even  in 
orchard  trees,  and  wait  for  an  opportunity  to  swoop  boldly  down  on 
a  young  chick  and  carry  it  off,  even  when  the  attendant  is  in  the  im- 
mediate neighborhood. 


102 


HOW  TO  RAISE  CHICKS 


Always  bury  dead  chicks  or  burn  them.  Burning  is  best.  If  you 
throw  them  out  in  some  out-of-the-way  part  of  the  farm  they  are  sure 
to  be  eaten  by  crows,  skunks,  dogs,  rats  and  cats,  and  it  gives  such 
prowlers  a  taste  of  chicken  meat  that  makes  them  want  more  and 
soon  you  will  have  your  hands  full  of  trouble. 

For  protection  against  crows  and  some  hawks,  it  is  a  good  plan 
to  erect  slender  poles  about  the  chicken  runs.  From  these  extend, 
above  head  heighth.  wires  or  stout  cord  running  zig-zag  all  over  the 
range,  and  from  the  cord  or  wire  hang  bits  of  colored  rags,  bright 


Anotlier  type  of  ''A"  shaped  colony  house  suitable  for  growing  chicks, 
half  <^rowu  and  full  grown  stock.     (Photo  by  Dr.  Woods.) 


tin,  glass  or  looking  glass;  hang  the  latter  so  that  they  will  jingle  in 
the  breeze  and  glitter  in  the  sun.  This  makes  a  very  good  hawk  and 
crow  scare.  Sometimes  there  is  no  remedy  that  will  work  but  shoot- 
ing the  pests,  and  as  they  usually  make  their  raids  at  about  the  same 
time  each  day,  you  can  usually  get  a  shot  at  them.  You  can  trap 
some  hawks  by  erecting  tall  poles  and  placing  a  small  steel  trap  on 
top  of  pole.     Be  sure  to  fasten  the  trap  to  the  pole  with  wire. 

Where  cats  are  troublesome  protect  the  chicks  with  wire  en- 
closed runs,  made  cat  proof.  Often  the  pampered  pet  tabby  is  an  in- 
corrigible chicken  thief  and  will  steal  chicks  of  any  size  up  to  two 
pounds,  and  I  have  known  a  cat  to  kill  adult  fowls.     Shoot  the  thief 


HOW  TO  RAISE  CHICKS  103 

when  caught  in  the  act  if  you  live  in  the  country  on  a  good  sized 
place.  If  you  have  a  town  or  city  lot  plant,  don't  take  any  chances 
using  firearms.  Shooting  near  dwelling  houses  is  risky  business,  and 
if  there  is  an  ordinance  against  it  you  are  liable  to  pay  a  heavy  fine 
if  any  person  complains  of  the  shooting.  Trapping  the  thieves  in  a 
box  trap,  baited  with  catnip  and  placed  in  the  poultry  yard,  is  an 
easy  and  quiet  way  to  get  rid  of  cats  that  prey  upon  fowls  and 
chickens. 

Foxes  are  very  troublesome  in  some  localities,  and  high  fences, 
one  or  more  good  dogs  and  shooting  the  foxes  are  about  the  only 
effective  remedies.  The  carcass  of  a  chicken  dosed  with  strychnine 
placed  at  night  near  the  runs  of  foxes  may  get  them  but  is  risky,  as 
valuable  dogs  may  eat  it  and  be  killed.  Take  in  the  poisoned  flesh 
during  the  day  to  avoid  poisoning  domestic  animals. 

Skunks  you  can  usually  shoot  if  you  go  hunting  them  with  a 
lantern  about  10  o'clock  in  the  evening.  Steel  traps  baited  with  dead 
chicken  are  also  effective.  A  few  eggs  dosed  with  strychnine  placed 
outside  the  chicken  runs  at  night  and  carefully  gathered  in  the  morn- 
ing will  prove  an  easy  method  of  killing  off  skunks.  Be  careful  with 
poison  and  do  not  leave  any  poisoned  food  or  eggs  about  the  place 
except  while  all  stock  is  safely  confined. 

Changes  in  Rations. — Don't  make  changes  in  rations  abruptly.  Go 
about  it  gradually.  When  feeding  a  chick  food  gradually  reduce  the 
amount  of  chick  food  fed  and  add  growing  food  to  take  the  place  of 
it,  a  little  each  day  until  no  chick  food  is  fed.  Do  the  same  with  any 
change  made  in  any  standard  ready-mixed  rations.  Rule  does  not 
apply  to  regular  daily  variations  in  rations  or  to  the  feeding  of  sup- 
plementary foods. 

Stock  Birds  and  Layers. — For  best  results  in  stock  birds  and  lay- 
ers give  the  growing  chicks  liberal  range.  If  the  pullets  are  to  be 
used  as  layers  only,  pushed  for  all  there  is  in  them  the  first  laying 
season  and  then  marketed,  they  will  stand  more  confinement  and 
pushing  when  growing  up.  Chicks  intended  for  breeding  stock  ought 
to  have  plenty  of  range  and  conditions  as  favorable  as  possible  to 
normal,  healthy  growth. 

It  is  usually  best  to  wean  them  from  chick  food  by  the  time  they 
are  three  or  four  weeks  old,  gradually  changing  from  chick  food  to 
other  food  until  they  get  practically  the  same  ration  as  the  adult 
breeders  or  laying  stock,  when  chicks  are  from  ten  weeks  to  three 
months  old.  Or  you  can  keep  them  on  a  growing  food  ration  until  a 
little  more  than  half  grown  and  then  begin  to  work  them  on  to  the 
regular  adult  ration  so  that  you  have  them  accustomed  to  it  by  the 
time  you  are  ready  to  house  them.    For  growing  breeders  and  layers  I 


104  HOW  TO  RAISE  CHICKS 

like  a  combination  ration  of  a  good  dry  mash,  a  good  cracked  and 
whole  grain  mixture,  combined  with  occasional  feedings  of  a  moist 
mash.  Green  food  should  be  fed  freely.  They  should  also  have 
an  abundant  supply  of  mineral  food  (grit,  shell,  dry  bone,  etc.)  and 
should  be  supplied  with  granulated  charcoal  and  plenty  of  good 
water. 

Market  Chicks. — Early  feeding  of  market  chicks  should  not  differ 
materially  from  other  chicks.  They  can  be  grown  with  less  range  and 
fed  more  heavily  on  forcing  and  fattening  foods.  You  want  to  get 
rapid  growth  and  soft,  tender  meat.  Such  chicks  can  be  fed  largely 
on  cracked  corn  or  coarse  cornmeal  (yellow)  trough-fed  dry;  with 
beef  scrap  and  bran  in  hoppers  and  coarse  beef  scrap  fed  with  some 
corn  grits  in  the  litter.  Give  green  food  freely  and  let  them  work 
for  part  of  their  food  until  you  have  them  within  two  weeks  of  mar- 
keting age,  then  keep  them  more  confined,  take  away  the  litter,  sand 
the  floors,  cut  out  the  supply  of  green  food  and  give  them  all  of  the 
cracked  corn  and  beef  scrap  that  they  will  clean  up  without  "going 
off  their  feed."  If  birds  are  large  enough  to  feed  on  whole  corn  and 
will  eat  it  more  readily,  give  it  to  them  in  place  of  cracked  corn. 

A  good  dry  mash  mixture  for  pushing  market  chicks  before  they 
get  corn  and  scrap  exclusively  is  the  following: 

Mixed  feed    1  measure 

Coarse  cornmeal  2  measures 

Stock  food 1  measure 

Best  beef  scrap 1  measure 

Alfalfa  meal  J  measure 

"Mixed  feed"  is  about  equal  parts  of  wheat  bran  and  middlings. 
"Stock  food"  is  corn,  oats  and  barley  ground  into  a  coarse  meal  and 
mixed  with  the  by-products  of  these  grains.  As  the  chicks  develop 
and  approach  marketable  age  gradually  reduce  other  ingredients  until 
you  are  feeding  mainly  cornmeal  and  beef  scrap. 

Housing  Stock  Birds. — When  the  time  comes  in  the  fall  to  bring 
In  the  stock  birds  from  summer  range  to  the  winter  yards  and  houses, 
be  prepared  to  make  the  change  one  that  will  prove  the  least  possi- 
ble interference  with  the  habits  and  comfort  of  the  flocks.  Use  open- 
front  houses.  Don't  crowd  them.  Provide  sufficiently  low  roosts.  See 
that  the  birds  use  the  roosts  at  night.  If  birds  are  to  be  confined  to 
the  house  through  the  winter,  don't  start  them  that  way  when  direct 
from  the  ranges.  Make  the  change  a  gradual  one,  if  possible.  Pro- 
vide yards,  temporary  ones  if  necessary,  and  have  plenty  of  green 
stuff  growing  in  these  yards.  When  the  green  stuff  in  yards  runs 
low,  supply  plenty  of  other  green  food  and  raw  vegetables  daily. 

A  good  deal  of  unnecessary  trouble  is  started  each  fall  by  making 


HOW  TO  RAISE  CHICKS 


105 


an  abrupt  change  from  open  coops  on  liberal  range,  with  an  abundance 
of  green  food,  to  closed  houses,  small  bare  yards,  crowded  quarters 
and  a  complete  change  in  ration.  Make  all  necessary  changes  in  such 
a  manner  that  the  birds  will  get  accustomed  to  it  with  the  least  dis- 
comfort and  make  as  few  changes  as  possible. 


Plymouth  Eock  and  Brahma  capons  and  dressed  capons.  Specimens  of 
quick  grown  market  chickens  from  vigorous  stock.  The  kind  that  are  in 
demand  in  the  best  markets  and  bring  40  to  50  cents  per  pound  dressed  at 
22  to  28  weeks  old,    (Photo  by  Dr.  Woods.) 


CHAPTER  X. 

Facts  About  White  Diarrhoea 


HICK  MORTALITY  in  recent  years  has  reached 
most  alarming  proportions.  During  the  past  f-fteen 
years  the  losses  of  small  chickens  between  the 
ages  of  three  days  and  two  weeks  have  amounted 
to  millions  of  chicks  annually.  Some  proprietors 
of  practical  poultry  plants  which  I  have  visited 
during  this  period  have  acknowledged  to  me  a  loss 
of  from  sixty  to  ninety  per  cent  in  many  broods 
from  a  disease  which  they  termed  "white  diar- 
rhoea." So  general  has  this  loss  of  chickens  become, 
increasing  yearly,  that  experiment  stations  all 
over  the  country  are  giving  a  great  deal  of  the 
time  of  their  best  men  to  a  study  of  the  subject 
in  an  endeavor  to  learn  the  cause  and  cure. 

After  careful  study,  investigation  and  experiments,  I  have  found 
remedies  which  can  be  depended  upon  to  prevent  and  cure  many 
cases  of  the  infantile  disorders  of  small  chicks  that  are  commonly 
classed  under  the  name  "white  diarrhoea."  These  remedies  have  been 
thoroughly  tried  and  tested  and  can  be  relied  upon  to  prove  safe, 
sure  and  effective.  Where  my  methods  of  managing  the  breeding 
stock,  handling  the  eggs  before  and  during  incubation,  management  of 
Incubators,  care  of  chicks  and  brooding  equipment  are  employed,  the 
mortality  of  small  chicks  can  be  reduced  to  the  minimum.  If  due  care 
is  exercised  in  following  the  directions  found  in  this  book  the  death 
rate  in  small  chickens  at  any  season  of  the  year  need  not  exceed  five 
to  ten  per  cent.  Many  broods  have  been  reared  without  the  loss  of  a 
single  chick.  The  remedy,  formula  for  which  is  given  in  this  chapter, 
can  be  relied  upon  in  the  majority  of  cases  to  prevent  disease,  repair 
lost  vitality  and  cure  so-called  white  diarrhoea,  provided  the  chicks 
are  not  already  too  far  gone  when  the  remedy  is  applied.  No  absurdly 
extravagant  claims  are  made  for  the  remedy  prescribed  for  your 
chicks.  There  is  no  such  thing  in  legitimate  and  practical  medicine 
as  a  real  "cure-all."  The  much  advertised  poultry  remedy  for  which 
extravagant  claims  of  cures  are  made  and  which  is  backed  by  an 
apparently  absolute,  cleverly-written  guaranty  to  "cure  in  every  case 

107 


108  HOW  TO  RAISE  CHICKS 

or  your  money  back"  can  often  be  safely  set  down  as  a  cheap  hum- 
bug, seldom  safe  to  use  and  sometimes  positively  dangerous.  You 
might  find  it  difficult  and  expensive  to  get  your  money  back  if  you 
wished  to  test  the  validity  of  the  guaranty. 

You  can  absolutely  depend  upon  this  remedy  to  do  all  that  any 
carefully  prescribed  and  properly  used  remedy  can  do  in  curing 
disease,  more  than  that  I  or  anyone  else  cannot  honestly  claim  for 
any  medicinal  preparation.  For  over  four  years  the  white  diarrhoea 
remedy  of  combined  tissue  phosphates,  formula  for  which  is  given 
in  latter  part  of  this  chapter,  was  sold  to  and  used  by  hundreds  of 
poultrymen  in  all  parts  of  the  United  States,  Canada,  and  a  number 
of  foreign  countries.  Every  report  received  was  a  testimonial  to  the 
successful  use  of  the  remedy  in  treatment  of  the  diarrhoeal  diseases 
of  young  chickens.  Many  poultrymen  ordered  the  remedy  in  large 
quantities  and  were  so  pleased  with  the  results  that  they  duplicated 
their  orders  several  times.  As  a  commercial  proposition  the  remedy 
cost  too  much  to  prepare  and  deliver  and  the  price  had  been  made 
low  in  order  to  have  it  well  tried  out  as  widely  as  possible.  The 
poultryman  can  have  it  prepared  at  any  homoeopathic  manufacturing 
pharmacy  at  lower  cost  than  I  could  afford  to  produce  it  and  keep  it 
on  the  market,  as  the  preparation  calls  for  thorough  machine  tritura- 
tion. In  giving  the  remedy  to  the  public  in  this  book  I  am  following 
the  course  originally  intended  and  one  that  I  have  followed  with 
many  of  the  most  valuable  formulae  used  by  poultrymen. 

White  Diarrhoea. — It  is  unfortunate  that  the  name  "white  diar- 
rhoea" should  have  been  so  r'3nerally  and  commonly  used  to  describe 
practically  all  ailments  which  result  in  a  high  death  rate  in  small 
chickens.  The  actual  diarrhoea  or  discharge  of  a  lime-like  excrement 
mixed  with  glairy  mucus  is  of  itself  only  a  symptom.  This  condition 
may  occur  in  a  considerable  variety  of  diseases  of  young  chicks. 
Where  this  symptom  of  "voiding  whitewash,"  as  it  has  been  aptly 
termed,  is  not  present  the  chicks  frequently  "paste  up  behind,"  or 
die  off  with  little  or  no  apparent  warning  and  no  evidence  of  bowel 
trouble. 

All  fatal  diarrhoeas  of  young  chicks  are  not  necessarily  bacillary 
white  diarrhoea,  which  apparently  is  a  specific  disease  for  which  Dr. 
Leo  F.  Rettger,  of  Yale,  believes  he  has  found  the  specific  germ,  a 
microscopic  organism  which  he  names  bacterium  pullorum.  Other  ob- 
servers have  isolated  other  organisms  which  they  believe  to  be  the 
specific  germ  of  white  diarrhoea,  but  Dr.  Rettger's  experiments  have 
apparently  been  the  most  thorough  and  painstaking  and  his  con- 
clusions agree  more  closely  with  the  facts  of  general  experience 
among  poultrymen  than  laboratory  results  reported  by  other  scientists 


HOW  TO  RAISE  CHICKS  109 

to  date.  Therefore,  I  am  disposed  to  believe  that  epidemic  fatal 
white  diarrhoea  is  usually  "bacillary  white  diarrhoea"  caused  by  bac- 
terium pullorum  (Rettger). 

It  is  probable  that  there  are  other  diarrhoeas  of  young  chicks  due 
to  other  germs  not  yet  identified.  "White  diarrhoea"  of  itself  is  only 
one  symptom  of  disease  and  might  appear,  undoubtedly  does  appear, 
in  more  than  one  fatal  disease  of  chicks. 

Causes  of  White  Diarrhoea. — In  investigating  the  causes  of  so- 
called  white  diarrhoea  there  are  four  general  sources  and  one  specific 
source  of  trouble  that  demand  your  attention: 

FIRST.— The  condition  of  the  breeding  stock  from  which  the  eggs 
for  hatching  were  taken. 

SECOND.— Carelessness  in  selection,  handling,  keeping  and  care 
of  eggs  intended  for  hatching  purposes. 
THIRD.— Faulty  incubation. 
FOURTH.— Errors  in  brooding  and  feeding. 
FIFTH.— A  specific  germ— bacterium  pullorum. 
Before  taking  up  the  symptoms  it  will  be  well  to  review  a  few  of 
the  various  names  which  have  been  applied  to  diseases  which  come 
under  the  general  classification  "white  diarrhoea."     These  have  in  a 
general  way  included  all  losses  from  so-termed  "non-absorption  of  the 
yolk,"  enlarged  caeca,   "pasting    up    behind,"    "spraddles,"    "wabbly 
legs,"  "wasting  disease,"  "appendicitis,"  acute  indigestion,  congenital 
anaemia,  rachitis,  marasmus,  and  a  great  variety  of  other  descriptive 
terms. 

Loss  or  lack  of  vitality  more  fitly  describes  the  condition  which 
we  find  causing  a  high  death  rate  in  chicks  under  two  weeks  old.  In 
some  cases  the  chicks  die  of  disease  which  finds  them  favorable  vic- 
tims, owing  to  their  low  vitality.  In  other  cases  the  chicks  actually 
die  of  exhaustion  because  they  did  not  bring  into  the  world  with  them 
a  sufficient  amount  of  that  vital  force  which  enables  them  to  live  and 
thrive.  When  it  is  said  that  a  chick  possesses  vitality  it  means  that 
the  chick  has  brought  into  the  world  within  itself  that  wonderful  vital 
force,  the  power  or  capability  to  live.  Vitality  means  containing  a 
form  of  energy  known  as  vital  force,  and  this  is  necessary  to  support- 
ing life  or  rendering  the  chick  capable  of  living.  Without  a  sufficient 
supply  of  this  wonderful  natural  force,  the  chick  is  a  weakling.  Upon 
the  degree  of  vital  force  possessed  by  the  chick  depends  its  ability  to 
live  and  thrive  and  to  resist  disease.  Anything  which  tends  to  lessen 
or  decrease  the  vitality  endangers  the  life  of  the  chick.  These  mat- 
ters are  taken  up  in  more  detail  in  their  proper  place  under  the  sepa- 
rate headings  which  follow  and  in  special  chapters  of  this  book. 

Symptoms  of  "White   Diarrhoea."— In  some  cases  there  may  be 


110  HOW  TO  RAISE  CHICKS 

entire  absence  of  visible  symptoms  except  such  as  would  appeal  to 
the  veteran  poultryman  who  instinctively  knows  certain  chicks  for 
weaklings  the  moment  they  are  taken  from  the  incubator.  The  chicks 
may  apparently  do  well  for  several  days  and  then  die  off  suddenly 
without  warning,  usually  being  found  dead  under  the  hovers  in  the 
brooders  the  first  thing  in  the  morning.  These  weakling  chicks  almost 
always  possess  certain  peculiarities  not  common  to  a  healthy 
specimen.  The  weakling  is  almost  always  big-bellied,  the  abdomen 
protruding  to  the  rear  so  that  it  bunches  out  behind  well  out  of  line 
of  the  vent,  with  the  result  that  the  chick  looks  as  if  the  tail  piece 
and  backbone  had  been  pushed  forward  and  in  just  above  the  vent. 
As  the  chick  grows  older  these  conditions  become  more  exaggerated 
and  it  is  wabbly  on  its  legs.  Sometimes  the  deformity  is  so  considera- 
ble that  when  the  chick  voids  excrement  it  seems  almost  impossible 
to  eject  it  over  the  protruding  abdomen  without  having  it  come  in 
contact  with  and  soil  the  down.  In  many  cases  the  chick  cannot  force 
the  droppings  beyond  the  fluff  or  down  on  the  abdomen  and  the 
excretion  dries  on  until  the  little  bird  is  in  the  condition  commonly 
known  as  "pasted  up  behind."  At  this  time  the  upper  margin  of  the 
vent  usually  protrudes  to  a  considerable  extent  beyond  the  lower 
margin  and  sometimes  takes  on  a  red  and  inflamed  appearance.  Fre- 
quently, but  not  always,  the  discharge  from  the  bowels  assumes  a 
lime-like  or  whitewash-like  character  mixed  with  glairy,  sticky  mucus. 
It  was  this  symptom  that  resulted  in  the  name  "white  diarrhoea." 

The  chicks  are  dopy,  sleepy,  droopy  and  inclined  to  huddle.  A.3 
the  disease  progresses  they  find  it  almost  impossible  to  keep  warm 
no  matter  how  hot  you  have  the  brooder.  Frequently  they  utter  a 
pitiful  chirp  or  cry  and  sometimes  make  shrill  cries  of  pain  when 
passing  droppings.  In  most  cases  there  is  no  fever,  the  chick's  body 
and  legs  feeling  cold  to  the  touch.  The  little  birds  do  not  fill  out  but 
remain  very  thin  and  emaciated.  There  is  wasting  of  all  the  tissues. 
The  little  birds  either  die  suddenly  without  warning  or  gradually 
waste  away  and  are  found  dead  and  trampled  flat  under  the  hovers. 
.  On  opening  the  chicks  after  death  the  yolk  remnant  will  usually 
be  found  to  be  unabsorbed.  Frequently  it  looks  as  if  it  were  in  a 
putrid  or  semi-putrid  condition,  having  a  mixed  greenish  and  yellow- 
ish color.  In  other  cases  it  may  be  partly  solidified.  In  still  others 
the  yolk  may  be  very  watery,  of  considerable  size  and  of  a  dark  green- 
ish, grayish  or  blackish  color.  Sometimes  the  duct  from  yolk  sack  to 
intestines  will  be  found  plugged  or  solidified  and  at  other  times 
atrophied.  Usually  there  is  little  or  no  food  in  the  intestines,  though 
often  the  crop  gizzard  will  be  found  packed  full  of  millet,  sand  or 
grit.    The  caecae  or  blind  guts  frequently  will  be  found  to  contain  a 


HOW  TO  RAISE  CHICKS  111 

considerable  amount  of  brownish  or  blackish  fluid.  In  some  cases 
they  will  be  almost  entirely  filled  with  a  grayish  or  yellowish  cheesy 
accumulation.  Some  specimens  that  I  have  examined  have  shown  the 
intestines  to  be  packed  or  clogged  with  coarse  wheat  bran. 

In  almost  all  cases  the  ureters,  or  ducts  from  the  kidneys  which 
empty  into  the  lower  portion  of  the  bowel  near  the  vent,  will  be 
found  to  be  packed  full  of  white  lime-like  substance,  and  this  may 
even  extend  into  the  kidney  tissue.  The  chalky  or  lime-like  material 
which  appears  in  the  droppings  and  gives  the  name  "white  diarrhoea" 
evidently  is  in  greater  part  excreted  through  the  kidneys. 

The  whole  body  of  the  chick  shows  evidence  of  ansomia  or  a  lack 
of  red  blood,  and  of  mal-nutrition.  It  is  apparent  that  the  greater 
portion  of  the  food  that  has  been  consumed  by  this  diseased  little  bird 
has  been  wasted  and  that  its  body  has  made  use  of  only  an  exceed- 
ingly small  portion.  Some  few  cases  show  evidence  of  violent  in- 
flammation of  the  intestines,  while  in  others  there  is  apparently  no 
inflammation  whatever  present. 

The  lungs,  liver,  heart,  intestines  and  sometimes  the  muscle  tis- 
sue are  frequently  found  to  be  full  of  small  nodules  or  deposits  of 
whitish,  cheesy  or  soft  chalk-like  substance.  These  deposits  have 
frequently  been  described  as  tubercles,  but  to  date  we  do  not  know 
of  anyone  who  has  found  tubercle  bacilli  in  the  deposits,  so  that  while 
the  possibility  remains  that  some  of  them  are  tubercles  I  am  not  pre- 
pared to  say  at  this  writing  that  any  disease  known  as  "white  diar- 
rhoea" is  actually  tuberculosis.  In  some  cases  undoubtedly  the  chicks 
may  be  and  are  tubercular,  but  there  is  no  direct  evidence  at  the  pres- 
ent time  to  indicate  that  any  cases  of  white  diarrhoea  are  in  reality  of 
a  tuberculous  character.  There  is  good  reason  to  believe  that  in 
many  instances  the  disease  is  the  direct  result  of  infection  with  a 
specific  germ.  This  germ  may  be  from  excrement  of  sick  or  de- 
bilitated old  fowls  and  so  smeared  on  the  eggs  or  may  come  from  a 
diseased  ovary. 

Symptoms  of  "Bacillary  White  Diarrhoea." — Bacillary  white  diar- 
rhoea is  the  name  given  by  Dr.  Rettger  to  the  specific  disease  which 
Le  has  investigated  under  the  general  name  "so-called  white  diar- 
rhoea." That  this  is  the  common  contagious  and  epidemic  form  there 
seems  no  reason  for  doubt.  That  there  may  be  other  chick  diseases 
accompanied  by  the  symptom  white  diarrhoea  there  is  every  reason  to 
believe.  That  other  investigators  may  be  right  in  their  conclusions 
concerning  other  germs  and  other  contagious  forms  of  white  diar- 
rhoea is  quite  probable.  The  discussion  of  the  identity  of  various 
minute  micro-organispag  which  may  or   may  not    cause    a    disease 


112  HOW  TO  RAISE  CHICKS 

always,  for  some  reason,  reminds  us  of  the  old  saying,  "Who  shall 
decide  when  doctors  disagree?" 

When  all  is  said  and  the  last  word  spoken,  microscopic  disease 
germs  are  everywhere  about  us,  regardless  of  their  precise  identifica- 
tion, and  as  a  general  rule  they  only  attack  peculiarly  susceptible 
victims — victims  that  are  born  predisposed  to  disease  or  have  lost 
vitality  through  some  cause  and  so  become  vulnerable.  If  this  was  not 
true  the  vast  army  of  germs  would  have  killed  us  all  off  long  ere  this. 

Herewith  follow  the  symptoms  and  post-morten  appearances  of 
bacillary  white  diarrhoea,  as  observed  by  Prof.  Stoneburn  and  Dr. 
Rettger: 

"As  in  many  other  diseases,  the  symptoms  may  vary  within  cer- 
tain limits  in  the  individuals  affected.  We  do  not  wish  to  be  under- 
stood that  all  of  the  following  symptoms  will  be  observed  in  every 
chick  suffering  from  bacillary  white  diarrhoea;  but  almost  all  of  them 
will  be  apparent  in  epidemics  of  any  considerable  size. 

"The  earliest  deaths  may  occur  within  a  very  short  time  after 
hatching,  without  any  prominent  symptoms,  excepting,  perhaps,  weak- 
ness and  lack  of  vitality.  The  characteristic  whitish  discharge  from 
the  vent  soon  makes  its  appearance  in  the  flock,  the  time  depending, 
without  doubt,  upon  the  virulence  of  the  organism  and  the  mode  of 
infection.  The  discharge  may  be  slight  or  profuse,  in  color  white  or 
creamy,  sometimes  mixed  with  brown.  The  voided  matter  has  a  more 
or  less  sticky  or  glairy  character.  It  may  simply  streak  down  below 
the  vent  or  may  cling  to  the  down  in  sufficient  quantity  to  seal  up 
the  vent.  This  condition  is  what  poultrymen  designate  as  "pasting 
up  behind."  This  latter  condition,  however,  is  not  necessarily  in- 
dicative of  white  diarrhoea. 

"The  chicks  soon  become  listless  and  sleepy,  inclined  to  huddle 
together  and  remain  under  the  hover  much  of  the  time.  They  seem 
to  lose  appetite  and  do  not  eat  much.  Frequently  when  they  attempt 
to  take  food  their  action  is  more  or  less  mechanical.  The  wings  begin 
to  droop  or  project  slightly  from  the  body,  with  feathers  ruflled.  In 
acute  cases  the  eyes  are  closed  and  the  chicks  become  indifferent  to 
everything  that  goes  on  about  them.  Many  of  the  chicks  peep  or 
chirp  constantly,  the  sound  being  shrill  or  weak,  according  to  the 
strength  of  the  individual.  Frequently,  when  endeavoring  to  void  the 
excreta,  the  chicks  utter  a  shrill  twitter,  apparently  a  cry  of  pain. 
The  breathing  may  be  labored,  the  abdomen  heaving  with  each  breath. 
Occasionally  one  may  note  a  certain  amount  of  gasping  or  gaping. 

"During  the  progress  of  the  disease  the  chick  may  die  suddenly 
while  still  fairly  strong.  When  the  disease  is  prolonged  the  chicks 
gradually  waste  away,  becoming  weaker  and  weaker  until  they  are 


HOW  TO  RAISE  CHICKS  113 

scarcely  able  to  support  their  own  weight.  In  this  stage  they  will 
often  be  seen  to  rest  against  foreign  objects  for  support,  standing 
with  legs  braced  apart,  squatting,  or  lying  utterly  helpless. 

"Frequently  the  chicks  take  on  the  appearance  which  poultrymen 
call  'short-backed.'  The  back  seems  to  shorten  and  the  abdomen  to 
protrude  out  of  proportion,  causing  the  chick  to  look  'stilty'  as  com- 
pared with  one  of  normal  development.  This  condition  Woods  ac- 
curately describes  as  follows: 

'The  weakling  is  almost  always  big-bellied,  the  abdomen  protrud- 
ing to  the  rear  so  that  it  bunches  out  behind,  well  out  of  line  with  the 
vent,  with  the  result  that  the  chick  looks  as  if  the  tail-piece  and  back- 
bone had  been  pushed  forward  and  in  just  above  the  vent.' 

"With  few  exceptions,  the  deaths  from  typical  bacillary  white 
diarrhcea  occur  while  the  chicks  are  under  one  month  of  age.  After 
this  a  few  straggling  deaths  may  be  expected,  and  if  complications 
set  in,  a  high  mortality  may  be  observed.  The  chicks  which  have  had 
bacillary  white  diarrhcEa  seem  to  be  greatly  weakened  in  constitution, 
and  fall  an  easy  prey  to  disorders  which  would  be  resisted  by  normal 
chicks. 

"Those  which  survive  remain  more  or  less  stunted  in  their  devel- 
opment. Frequently  they  are  misshapen,  with  long  beaks  and  'crow 
heads,'  and  with  imperfect  feathering.  In  every  way  they  impress 
one  as  being  weak  and  lacking  in  vitality.  This  condition  may  persist 
indefinitely,  or  the  bird  may  slowly  regain  vigor  and  vitality  and 
make  fairly  satisfactory  development. 

"The  usual  method  of  autopsy  has  been  followed  here,  the  bird 
being  placed  on  its  back  on  a  board,  the  outstretched  wings  and  legs 
tacked  in  position,  the  skin  covering  the  breast  and  abdomen  removed 
and  the  internal  organs  exposed  to  view  by  removal  of  the  entire 
breast  bone.     In  typical  cases  the  following  conditions  are  found: 

"CROP — Empty  or  partially  filled  with  slimy  fluid  or  food. 

"LUNGS — Apparently  normal.      (Tubercles  not  observed.) 

"LIVER — Pale,  with  streaks  and  patches  of  red.  The  congested 
areas  are  usually  large  in  size.  Occasionally  epidemics  will  be  met 
with  in  which  the  liver  is  more  or  less  congested  throughout.  In  such 
cases  the  portion  of  the  stomach  lying  in  contact  with  the  liver  is 
inflamed. 

"KIDNEYS  and  SPLEEN— Apparently  normal. 

"INTESTINES— Pale,  and  for  the  greater  part  empty.  A  small 
amount  of  dark  grayish  or  brownish  matter  frequently  present. 

"CECA — With  few  exceptions,  but  partly  filled  with  a  grayish  soft 
material.     Only  occasionally  cheesy  or  firm  contents. 

"UNABSORBED  YOLK— Usually  present,  varying  In  size  from  a 


114  HOW  TO  RAISE  CHICKS 

pea  to  a  full  sized  yolk.  The  color  may  vary  from  yellow  to  brownish 
green  or  nearly  black.  In  consistency  there  is  also  much  variation, 
it  may  appear  perfectly  normal,  distinctly  gelatinous,  or  watery.  Fre- 
quently it  looks  like  custard  and  again  it  is  more  or  less  dry  and  firm. 
Unless  the  chick  has  been  dead  for  some  time  the  yolk  is  not  putrid, 
but  merely  stale. 

"The  chick,  as  a  whole,  appears  more  or  less  anaemic  and 
emaciated.  The  muscles  of  the  wings,  breast  and  legs  may  be  almost 
completely  wasted  away." 

Infection. — If  this  disease  is  due  to  only  one  specific  micro-organ- 
ism or  if  "white  diarrhoea"  is  a  symptom  of  several  germ  diseases,  it 
is,  of  course,  infectious.  In  my  experience  and  observation,  if  con- 
tagion or  infection  (please  take  both  words  in  their  broad  meaning) 
takes  place  at  all,  it  only  occurs  in  susceptible  individuals  at  a  very 
early  period.  Healthy  chicks  have  frequently  been  allowed  to  run 
with  those  affected  with  white  diarrhoea  and  have  not  contracted  the 
disease.  On  one  poultry  plant  where  I  had  this  trouble  under  observa- 
tion several  flocks  of  white  diarrhoea  chicks  were  placed  in  a  brooder 
house  without  spreading  the  disease  to  the  remainder  of  the  birds 
housed  therein.  Chicks  from  the  well  flocks  ran  in  and  out  of  the 
white  diarrhoea  pens  and  suffered  no  inconvenience  or  ill  effects. 

Apparently  contagion  takes  place,  if  it  does  at  all,  between  the 
time  when  the  chick  first  pips  the  shell  and  the  completion  of  the 
drying  off  period.  Marked  chicks  were  placed  in  machines  which  were 
believed  to  contain  infected  eggs  and  chicks.  These  little  birds  were 
introduced  to  the  incubators  just  at  hatching  time.  If  taken  from 
another  incubator  or  from  hens'  nests  just  before  or  as  soon  as  they 
were  nearly  dry  and  placed  in  these  infected  incubators,  they  in- 
variably contracted  white  diarrhoea  when  the  flocks  hatched  in  the 
machines  developed  the  disease.  Healthy  chicks  two  to  four  days  old 
when  placed  in  the  same  machines  under  the  same  conditions  did  not 
contract  the  disease.  Chicks,  from  eggs  hatched  in  w^hite  diarrhoea 
machines,  placed  under  hens  developed  the  disease  in  the  same  time 
and  manner  as  the  brooder  flocks.  Marked,  healthy  hen-hatched  and 
incubator-hatched  chicks  from  fumigated  incubators  placed  in  brood- 
ers with  white  diarrhoea  chicks  and  under  hens  having  diseased 
chicks  in  the  flock  did  not  contract  the  trouble  and  lived  and  thrived 
well.  This,  I  believe,  supports  the  statement  that  the  disease,  if  con- 
tagious, is  contracted  very  early  in  the  life  of  the  chick,  at  least 
sometime  before  it  is  48  to  72  hours  old,  also  that  it  attacks  only  sus- 
ceptible individuals. 

By  careful  experiment  it  was  found  possible  to  hatch  a  flock  free 
from  white  diarrhoea  in  a  given  incubator,  the  preceding  lot  of  chicks 


HOW  TO  RAISE  CHICKS  115 

from  which  had  suffered  heavy  losses  from  the  disease.  Following 
this  up  it  was  possible  to  again  practically  at  will  obtain  lots  of  chicks 
that  would  develop  the  disease  or  not  at  the  desire  of  the  operator, 
proving  almost  conclusively  that  it  is  possible,  even  with  eggs  from 
doubtful  sources,  to  control  some  forms  of  white  diarrhoea,  and  with 
selected  eggs  from  selected  healthy  breeders  to  prevent  the  occur- 
rence of  the  disease  altogether. 

On  the  subject  of  infection  with  bacillary  white  diarrhoea,  Dr. 
Rettger  and  Prof.  Stoneburn  say: 

"The  mother  hen  is  the  original  source  of  infection,  the  specific 
organism  being  present  in  the  ovary.  Consequently  the  organism  is 
to  be  found  in  the  yolks  of  a  certain  proportion  of  the  eggs  produced 
by  infected  hens,  and  chicks  from  such  eggs  have  the  disease  when 
hatched. 

"In  numerous  tests  it  was  demonstrated  that  chicks  could  be  in- 
fected with  bacterium  pullorum  through  infected  food.  Normal  chicks 
may  contract  the  disease  through  food  or  water  contaminated  with 
infected  droppings.  Infection  through  the  food  supply  takes  place  at 
an  early  age,  in  all  probability  within  the  first  three  or  four  days 
after  hatching.  Infection  from  chick  to  chick  cannot,  apparently,  take 
place  after  they  are  three  or  four  days  old. 

"Eggs  from  infected  hens  contain  the  organism  in  the  yolks. 

"As  a  rule,  infected  chicks  make  less  satisfactory  growth  than 
those  that  are  apparently  normal.  For  some  time  they  appear  stunted 
and  weak,  but  may  eventually  undergo  more  or  less  complete  de- 
velopment. 

"The  female  chicks  which  survive  often  harbor  the  infection  and 
may  become  bacillus  carriers.  Infection  in  the  breeding  pens  may  be 
perpetuated  in  this  manner. 

"In  all  probability  infection  does  not  pass  from  adult  to  adult. 

"Infected  hens  are  apparently  poor  layers,  especially  in  their  sec- 
ond and  subsequent  laying  seasons.  Apparently  such  hens  lay  regu- 
larly only  in  the  spring  and  summer,  the  natural  breeding  season. 
Chicks  hatched  in  the  late  fall,  winter  or  early  spring  are  compara- 
tively free  from  this  disease. 

"It  is  of  the  greatest  importance  that  the  poultryman  learn  to 
recognize  bacillary  white  diarrhoea,  both  through  external  symptoms 
and  post-mortem  appearances  of  diseased  chicks.  The  mere  discharge 
of  whitish  material  from  the  vent  is  not  in  itself  proof  that  the  chicks 
are  affected  with  this  specific  disorder. 

"Infected  hens  should  be  eliminated  from  the  breeding  pens. 
Such  elimination  is  made  possible  by  pedigree  records  of  chicks.  If 
the  eggs  from  the  different   pens   are  hatched   separately,   and  the 


116  HOW  TO  RAISE  CHICKS 

chicks  segregated  for  the  first  few  days,  it  will  soon  be  made  apparent 
through  the  condition  of  the  chicks,  which  pens  contain  infected 
hens.  This  may  prove  effectual  in  cases  where  infection  has  not 
become  general.  To  determine  which  individual  hens  are  infected, 
the  trap  nest  should  be  used,  and  the  same  general  procedure  fol- 
lowed. 

"In  case  infection  exists  and  it  is  not  practicable  to  determine  the 
breeders  which  are  infected,  the  entire  flock  should  be  discarded  for 
breeding  purposes,  and  eggs  for  hatching  secured  from  a  non-infected 
farm.  We  have  records  of  farms  where  the  disease  has  been  elimi- 
nated in  a  single  season  by  following  this  plan,  and  without  any 
change  in  equipment  or  methods. 

"Another  possible  means  of  determining  infection  of  breeding 
hens  is  the  direct  examination  of  the  ovaries.  It  is  entirely  prac- 
ticable to  inspect  these  organs  through  an  opening  in  the  side  of 
the  bird  similar  to  that  made  in  caponizing.  Where  the  abnormal  con- 
dition is  marked  it  may  be  easily  detected. 

"Great  care  should  be  exercised  that  breeding  stock,  young 
chicks  or  eggs  for  hatching  be  secured  from  flocks  which  are  free 
from  white  diarrhoeal  infection. 

"As  to  the  means  of  preventing  the  spread  of  infection  from  chick 
to  chick,  segregation  of  chicks  during  first  four  days  after  hatching 
should  prove  effective.  It  is  entirely  probable  that  keeping  chicks  in 
small  groups  in  the  incubator  for  forty-eight  hours  after  hatching 
will  materially  reduce  the  chances  of  a  few  infected  individuals 
spreading  the  infection  through  the  entire  hatch.  For  division  into 
small  groups  we  suggest  the  use  of  pedigree  trays,  wire  baskets,  or 
bags  made  of  mosquito  netting.  Naturally,  the  smaller  the  group  the 
less  chance  of  spreading  the  infection. 

"From  the  time  the  chicks  begin  to  hatch  until  they  are  removed 
to  the  brooder,  the  incubator  should  be  kept  dark.  This  will  largely 
prevent  the  chicks  from  picking  at  the  droppings. 

"Since  infected  chicks  make  unsatisfactory  development  for  the 
first  few  weeks,  and  may  later  regain  vigor  and  make  fair  growth, 
it  is  advisable  to  select  at  an  early  age  those  intended  for  breeding 
purposes.  The  selection  may  be  made  when  the  chickens  are  from 
eight  to  ten  weeks  of  age,  reserving  only  those  which  show  greatest 
vigor  and  development. 

"Incubators,  brooders  and  all  other  appliances  used  in  the  hatch- 
ing and  rearing  of  the  chicks  should  be  cleaned  and  disinfected  fre- 
quently. 

"Food  and  water  should  be  supplied  in  such  a  manner  as  to 
prevent  contamination   with   infected   droppings.     The    use    of    fine 


HOW  TO  RAISE  CHICKS  117 

absorptive  litter  in  the  brooder,  especially  the  first  few  days,  is  also 
advisable. 

"The  feeding  of  sour  milk  may  prove  very  effective  as  a  preven- 
tive measure.  The  milk  must  be  fed  early  or  during  the  infection 
stage.  After  the  white  diarrhoea  organism  has  once  entered  the  gen- 
eral circulation,  such  treatment  is  of  little  or  no  value.  Hence,  sour 
milk  should  not  be  looked  upon  as  a  cure,  but  merely  as  a  possible 
preventive  agent. 

"Since  perfect  physical  condition  is,  as  a  rule,  a  barrier  to  disease, 
it  is  important  that  the  health  and  vigor  of  the  breeding  stock  and 
chicks  be  raised  and  constantly  preserved.  Proper  methods  of  hous- 
ing, feeding,  incubation,  brooding  and  management  should  therefore 
be  employed." 

In  comment  on  the  foregoing  by  Dr.  Rettger  and  Prof.  Stoneburn 
I  wish  to  add: 

It  is  important  to  note  that  not  all  eggs  laid  by  infected  hens 
were  found  to  contain  the  bacterium  pullorum;  this  may  explain  why 
some  chicks  from  a  certain  hen  mother  apparently  escape  infection. 
Query:  Might  not  such  chicks  possess  diseased  ovaries,  be  suscepti- 
ble to  infection  and  prove  a  source  of  trouble  if  pullets? 

Apparently  Messrs.  Rettger  and  Stoneburn  have  not  found,  and 
do  not  credit  the  presence  of,  the  infectious  matter  ON  the  outside  of 
the  eggshell.  This  may  be  true  of  the  bacterium  pullorum,  but  other 
investigators  name  other  micro-organisms  as  the  probable  cause  of 
disease  symptoms  which  are  apparently  almost  identical  with  so- 
called  white  diarrhoea,  except  for  some  post-mortem  difference  that 
would  only  be  noted  by  a  trained  observer.  I  have  produced  similar 
disease  in  chicks  by  smearing  droppings  of  infected  hens  on  eggs 
used  for  hatching.  I  have  had  numerous  cases  reported  where  the 
disease  was  prevented,  on  plants  where  it  had  previously  been  a 
scourge,  by  simple  disinfection  of  the  eggs  used  for  hatching — dip- 
ping them  just  before  setting  in  a  solution  of  one  gill  of  creolin  in 
eight  and  one-half  quarts  of  soft  water.  In  these  cases  had  the  germs 
been  IN  the  eggs  the  dipping  would  not  have  yielded  such  good  re 
suits.  We  should  not  lose  sight  of  the  fact  that  it  is  entirely  possible 
that  more  than  one  group  of  microscopic  germs  may  be  capable  of 
producing  in  young  chicks  disease  symptoms  which  we  know  as 
"white  diarrhoea."  In  case  of  doubt  it  is  well  to  observe  all  of  the 
reasonable  precautionary  measures  that  we  know  of  for  the  preven- 
tion of  the  disease. 

It  has  been  demonstrated  that  chicks  may  have  white  diarrhoea 
and  live,  even  develop  into  specimens  that  a  careless  observer,  and 
perhaps  a  trained  one,  might  pass  as  a  normal  fowl.    Such  birds,  if 


118  HOW  TO  RAISE  CHICKS 

females,  would  have  infected  ovaries  and  be  capable  of  sowing  the 
disease  broadcast.  It  follows  that  chicks  reared  in  a  white  diarrhoea 
flock  SHOULD  NOT  BE  BRED. 

It  is  stated  that  in  all  probability  infection  does  not  pass  from 
adult  to  adult.  Here  we  tread  on  dangerous  ground.  It  is  not  safe 
to  assume  that  any  disease  which  may  be  transmitted  in  contaminated 
food  and  drinking  water  will  not  pass  from  adult  to  adult  fowl.  It  is 
quite  possible  that  adult  fowls  may  not  present  any  symptoms  of  the 
disease,  their  ovaries  or  testes  may  remain  uninfected,  but  what  is 
to  prevent. the  bacilli,  taken  into  the  digestive  tract  in  infected  food 
or  drink,  from  multiplying  in  the  intestinal  tract  and  disseminating 
the  disease  through  the  droppings  or  through  smears  on  the  egg 
shells?  "Poisoned"  or  tainted  ground  is  a  common  source  of  disease 
in  young  chickens  and  old  fowl  and  it  is  a  fact,  that  cannot  be  suc- 
cessfully contradicted,  that  ground  is  tainted  or  "poisoned"  by  drop- 
pings laden  with  micro-organisms,  not  only  from  diseased  fowls,  but 
from  apparently  healthy  birds,  whose  only  association  with  the 
disease  appears  to  be  that  of  a  carrier  of  the  germs. 

If  it  should  prove  true  that  infected  hens  are  invariably  poor  lay- 
ers, especially  in  second  and  subsequent  laying  seasons,  and  that  ap- 
parently such  hens  lay  only  in  spring  and  summer  or  the  natural 
breeding  season,  then  it  should  not  be  difficult  to  select  breeding 
stock  comparatively  free  from  taint  by  choosing  late  fall,  winter  and 
early  spring  chicks  to  grow  for  breeding  stock. 

Make  HEALTH,  VIGOR  and  VITALITY  your  slogan  always  in  all 
poultry  keeping.  Breed  for  health,  grow,  feed,  house  and  manage  for 
health  first,  last  and  all  the  time.  It  is  only  by  having  healthy  fowls 
with  sound  constitutional  vigor  and  by  doing  your  best  to  keep  them 
sound  and  healthy  that  you  can  hope  for  immunity  from  disease. 

Before  taking  up  the  treatment  of  white  diarrhcea  (so-called)  I 
wish  to  emphasize  the  more  important  methods  of  prevention.  Bear 
in  mind  the  old  and  wise  saying,  "An  ounce  of  prevention  is  worth 
many  pounds  of  cure." 

Selection,  Care  and  Management  of  the  Breeding  Stock. — Be  sure 
to  always  consider  the  condition  of  the  breeding  stock.  Losses  of 
small  chicks  may  result  from  breeding  immature  (not  full  grown  or 
developed)  males  or  females,  or  from  fat,  old  birds  that  are  out  of 
condition,  from  fowls  that  have  been  overforced  for  egg  production, 
that  are  or  have  been  diseased,  that  are  kept  in  crowded,  unsanitary 
quarters,  or  are  out  of  breeding  condition  from  any  other  cause. 
Please  read  Chapter  I  to  IV  inclusive  on  selection,  feeding,  care  and 
management  of  breeding  stock.  You  cannot  be  too  particular  to  have 
your  foundation  stock  right. 


HOW  TO  RAISE  CHICKS  119 

It  has  been  demonstrated  in  the  case  of  bacillary  white  diarrhoea 
that  the  mother  hen  is  a  source  of  infection.  The  breeding  stock  may- 
be both  a  direct  and  an  indirect  source  of  infection.  Breeding  from 
unsound  breeders  would  be  an  indirect  cause  of  the  disease  by  pro- 
ducing low  vitality  chicks  that  are  predisposed  to  disease  from  the 
day  they  are  hatched.  You  cannot  make  any  mistake  if  you  will  con- 
sistently and  persistently  BREED  FOR  HEALTH. 

Selection  and  Care  of  Eggs  for  Hatching. — Do  not  forget  that  the 
cause  of  white  diarrhoea,  the  germ  or  organism  which  causes  the 
disease,  may  be  found  either  in  or  on  the  eggs,  and  that  carelessness 
In  selection,  handling,  keeping  and  care  of  eggs  intended  for  hatching 
purposes  is  a  very  common  cause  of  mortality  in  young  chicks.  Un- 
fortunately the  majority  of  poultry  keepers  fail  to  appreciate  this  fact. 
Provide  three  or  four  comfortable  nests  to  each  20  to  25  birds  so  that 
the  fowls  will  not  be  inclined  to  crowd  on  the  nest  and  soil  or  crack 
the  eggs.  Test  the  eggs  from  each  pen  occasionally  to  see  how  they 
are  running  in  fertility.  If  the  percentage  of  fertility  is  not  good,  try 
a  change  of  male  birds  or  reduce  the  number  of  females  allotted  to 
one  male.  In  Chapter  V  you  will  find  detailed  information  concerning 
eggs  for  hatching.  It  does  not  pay  to  take  any  chances  with  poor 
eggs  or  eggs  that  have  been  mishandled. 

Faulty  Incubation. — You  will  find  the  subject  of  successful  incuba- 
tion, natural  and  artificial,  treated  in  Chapter  VI.  Faulty  incubation 
is  a  common  cause  of  chick  mortality.  The  use  of  poorly  constructed 
incubators,  careless  management  of  all  incubators  or  of  sitting  hens- 
often  results  in  a  waste  of  vitality  of  the  embryo  chick,  with  the  re- 
sult that  the  little  birds  when  hatched  die  off  quickly  from  supposedly 
mysterious  causes,  and  are  so  charged  up  against  white  diarrhoea. 

Errors  in  Brooding  and  Feeding. — Chapters  VII  to  IX,  inclusive, 
tell  how  to  brood  and  feed  chicks,  and  I  believe  will  help  you.  Errors 
in  brooding  or  feeding  sometimes  result  in  chick  mortality  or  losses 
from  so-called  white  diarrhoea.  The  best  means  of  prevention  is  to 
use  wholesome  food  and  to  properly  brood  and  care  for  the  flocks. 

The  Specific  Germ. — Bacterium  pullorum  has  been  named  in  this 
chapter  as  the  cause  of  bacillary  white  diarrhoea,  an  infectious 
disease.  The  germ  is  not  likely  to  make  a  successful  attack  on  a 
normal,  well-born,  healthy  chick  that  is  full  of  vigor  and  vitality.  The 
only  satisfactory  way  to  get  rid  of  this  disease  is  to  breed  only 
healthy  fowls.  By  trap-nests,  or  otherwise,  cull  out  any  infected  adult 
birds,  kill  and  burn  them.  Don't  use  eggs  for  hatching  from  infected 
flocks.  Avoid  or  clean  up  and  disinfect  infected  ground.  Breed  for 
health. 

Formula  for  Successful   White   Diarrhoea   Remedy.— This  remedy 


120  HOW  TO  RAISE  CHICKS 

was  tried  in  private  experiments  in  1906  and  1907  and  was  so  success- 
ful that  it  was  decided  to  put  it  on  the  market  for  a  time  and  en- 
deavor to  secure  unbiased  testimonials  from  persons  who  paid  for 
the  remedy  because  they  needed  it  and  would  therefore  use  it.  I 
now  have  had  the  remedy  on  the  market  for  four  years  and  have  a  big 
bunch  of  testimonials  from  satisfied  users  in  both  hemispheres. 

It  has  been  shown  in  experiments  and  laboratory  tests  that  Ill- 
born  chicks,  seme  incubator  chicks  and  particularly  white  diarrhoea 
chicks  are  lacking  in  the  normal  mineral  content  of  healthy,  vigorous 
chicks. 

Biochemistry  suggested  that  as  white  diarrhoea  chicks  and  weak- 
ling chicks  are  lacking  the  normal  proportion  of  mineral  matter  in 
their  tissues,  there  must  be  a  deficiency  of  "cell-salts"  which  compose 
the  tissues  involved.  If  the  missing  factors  (mineral  salts)  could  be 
supplied  in  easily  assimilable  form,  then  reaction  would  follow  and 
equality,  harmony  and  health  would  be  established. 

It  is  not  necessary  to  be  over-fussy  in  preparation  of  tissue  rem- 
edy combinations  for  young  chicks,  therefore  twelve  remedies  were 
combined  in  a  one-grain  tablet  triturate.  Any  reliable  homoeopathic 
pharmacy  can  prepare  these  tablets  for  you  at  moderate  cost.  Prepa- 
ration without  proper  machinery  is  too  expensive  to  warrant  my 
keeping  them  on  the  market,  and  hereafter  I  must  decline  to  fill  any 
orders.  The  ingredients  should  be  triturated  to  the  finest  possible 
powder  and  made  into  tablets  with  the  addition  of  calcium  carbonate. 
The  formula  follows: 

Calcium  fluorid    1/1000  of  a  grain 

Calcium  phosphate  1/100     of  a  grain 

Calcium   sulphate    1/100     of  a  grain 

Ferrum  phosphate   1/100     of  a  grain 

Potassium   chlorid    1/100     of  a  grain 

Potassium    phosphate    1/100     of  a  grain 

Potassium  sulphate    1/100     of  a  grain 

Magnesium    phosphate    1/100     of  a  grain 

Sodium   chlorid    1/100     of  a  grain 

Sodium   phosphate    1/100     of  a  grain 

Sodium   sulphate   1/100     of  a  grain 

Silica    1/1000  of  a  grain 

Above  is  composition  of  one  tablet. 

Treatment  of  White  Diarrhoea.— The  preventive  treatment  of 
white  aiarrhcea  begins  with  the  breeding  stock  and  follows  through 
the  care  of  eggs  for  hatching,  incubation  and  brooding,  and  manage- 
ment of  the  chicks.  This  has  been  fairly  well  covered  in  the  pre- 
ceding chapters.     The  first  rule  in  treating  any  disease  is  to  seek  out 


HOW  TO  RAISE  CHICKS  121 

and  remove  the  cause.  I  have  tried  to  make  clear  that  anything  that 
tends  to  lower  the  vitality  of  the  breeding  stock,  of  the  germ  or  em- 
bryo within  the  egg,  or  of  the  chicks  after  they  are  hatched,  may  re- 
sult in  so-called  white  diarrhoea  or  wasting  disease. 

By  breeding  and  striving  for  vitality  through  common-sense  man- 
agement of  the  flock,  the  poultryman  exercises  the  best  means  of 
prevention  of  all  diseases. 

Even  when  little  chicks  are  born  with  a  comparatively  low  vital- 
ity, they  can  by  careful  and  painstaking  management  be  encouraged 
to  acquire  vitality  and  stamina  during  their  growing  up,  provided  they 
are  not  seriously  handicapped  by  too  great  a  loss  of  vitality  at  the 
start. 

As  a  preventive  measure  other  than  those  previously  recom- 
mended, the  remedy  in  tablet  form,  formula  for  which  is  given  in  this 
chapter,  for  white  diarrhoea  chicks  is  a  very  effective  one.  This  tissue 
remedy,  when  properly  used,  can  be  relied  upon  to  assist  in  the 
restoration  of  lowered  vitality,  correct  wasting  disease,  restore  dis- 
ordered digestive  organs  to  their  normal  functions,  help  the  chick 
acquire  vitality  and  an  abundant  supply  of  good  red  blood. 

As  a  preventive  measure,  dissolve  twelve  tablets  in  one  pint  of 
drinking  water  and  allow  the  little  birds  no  other  drink.  Renew  the 
remedy  and  the  drinking  water  daily  for  one  week.  Thereafter  it 
need  not  be  given  oftener  than  twice  a  week  if  the  chicks  are  in 
fairly  good  condition.  The  same  method  of  treatment  will  prove 
effective  in  mild  cases. 

In  severe  cases  of  white  diarrhoea  where  losses  have  been  con- 
siderable, cull  the  flock  very  carefully  and  kill  off  any  specimens  that 
seem  very  far  gone.  It  is  waste  of  time  to  attempt  treatment  of  little 
chicks  that  are  too  sick  to  eat  and  drink.  Little  birds  that  persist 
in  crowding  under  the  hover  and  will  not  come  out  for  food  cannot 
be  benefited  by  any  remedy. 

Chicks  that  will  eat,  though  seriously  sick,  may  often  be  cured. 
Withhold  all  grain  food  for  a  period  of  two  or  three  days  and  give 
several  times  a  day  the  remedy  prepared  in  the  following  manner: 
Thoroughly  scald  or  bring  to  the  boiling  point  good,  sweet,  whole 
milk;  add  to  this  a  sufl[icient  amount  of  thoroughly  boiled  white  bread 
flour  to  give  the  milk  the  consistency  of  medium  heavy  cream.  Do 
not  get  it  too  thick  for  the  chicks  to  drink  readily.  In  one  cupful  of 
this  prepared  milk  dissolve  ten  tablets  of  the  remedy,  which  have 
been  crushed  before  adding  to  the  milk.  Also  add  a  very  small  pinch 
of  grated  nutmeg  and  one-quarter  of  a  level  teaspoon  of  pure  pow- 
dered ginger.  Of  the  above  preparation  allow  the  little  chicks  all 
they  will  drink  from  three  to  six  times  daily.    Do  not  leave  this  milk 


122  HOW  TO  RAISE  CHICKS 

mixture  before  the  chicks  all  the  time,  as  they  are  liable  to  get  them- 
selves messed  up  in  it  and  so  become  wet  and  chilled.  Usually  in  two 
to  three  days  the  little  chicks  will  be  ready  to  return  gradually  to  the 
regular  ration,  but  continue  giving  an  occasional  feeding  daily  of  the 
remedy  prepared  in  milk,  as  directed.  Discontinue  the  remedy  only 
when  you  are  sure  that  the  chicks  are  well  out  of  danger. 

When  the  little  chicks  paste  up  behind  remove  the  accumulation 
of  dung  and  bathe  the  parts  with  creolin  and  warm  water.  Do  this 
as  often  as  you  find  droppings  caking  on  about  and  below  the  vent. 
For  this  purpose  use  one-half  teaspoonfui  of  creolin  in  a  pint  of  com- 
fortably warm  water.  Dry  the  chick  before  you  return  it  to  the 
brood. 

When  returning  them  to  the  dry  food  ration  it  may  be  supple- 
mented with  thoroughly  dried  stale  bread  crumbs  that  have  been 
barely  moistened  with  warm,  sweet  milk,  also  with  mashed  boiled 
potatoes,  boiled  cracked  rice,  boiled  wheat  and  a  very  little  raw 
potato.     Be  sure  to  keep  the  chicks  warm  while   under  treatment. 


They  will  require  a  rather  h:£,l:c:'  LiccCl.is  temperature  than  healthy 
chicks  of  the  same  age,  and  should  not  be  given  too  much  freedom. 
Keep  them  confined  close  to  the  brooder  or  inside  of  it  according  to 
age. 

Chicks  that  have  been  seriously  ill  with  white  diarrhoea  should 
not  be  kept  for  breeding  stock.  If  they  make  a  good  recovery,  grow 
them  as  quickly  as  possible  to  broiler  or  roaster  sizes  and  sell  them 
off  as  market  poultry. 

Where  soil  is  not  infected  chicks  that  do  not  thrive  well  are 
sometimes  benefited  by  feeding  them  all  they  will  eat  of  angle  worms 
and  chopped  dandelion  leaves  until  it  physics  them. 

Where  white  diarrhcea  is  suspected  the  following  is  worth  a  trial 
and  has  worked  well   in  a  number  of  cases  as  an   intestinal  disin- 


HOW  TO  RAISE  CHICKS  123 

fectant.  When  the  chicks  are  removed  from  the  nest  or  machine  give 
each  chick  a  little  drink  of  medicated  water  by  dipping  its  bill.  Use 
a  solution  of  three  drops  of  creolin  in  four  fluid  ounces  of  boiled 
water,  which  has  been  allowed  to  cool  before  mixing.  Mix  freshly 
each  time  needed. 

Don't  get  worried  because  you  have  had  white  diarrhoea  in  your 
flocks  or  because  you  have  had  troubles  that  indicate  poisoning  of 
the  soil.  Make  up  your  mind  to  fight  the  trouble.  Find  the  cause 
and  get  rid  of  it.  Top  dress  your  land  with  air-slaked  lime,  plow  it  in 
and  grow  a  good  crop  on  the  land  to  sweeten  it;  repeat  this  often.  Get 
rid  of  all  diseased  stock.  Make  up  your  mind  to  breed  only  from 
HEALTHY  BREEDING  BIRDS,  full  of  VIGOR  and  VITALITY,  and 
if  you  stick  to  it  with  sufficient  common  sense,  push  and  pluck  YOU 
ARE  SURE  TO  SUCCEED. 

(The  End.) 


D.  H.  HILL  LIBRARY 

North  Carolina  State  College 


American  Poultry 
^j  Journal 

//  Year 
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